Spirit Walker
by AzureSkyTower
Summary: Mai is the sweet, idealistic, latent psychic that we have grown to love, but what would happen if Mai had a younger twin brother, a twin who was dead. A twin who managed to live out his life as a spirit. Rated T for mild swearing and slightly graphic stuff. (Urado)
1. Chapter 1

**Please don't kill me, I have a chapter ready for HHFW its just being beta-ed!**

**This is going to be quite a bit different from its source material, no?**

_**6/22/16: I will be going through the chapters editing small things, though don't get me wrong, a few words here and a line there can make the world of difference in making things make more sense. Plus I'm finding things I missed first publish.**_

Summary: Mai is the sweet, idealistic, latent psychic that we have grown to love, but what would happen if Mai had a younger twin brother, a twin who was dead. A twin who managed to live out his life as a spirit.

* * *

Chapter 1

A Story of a Ghost

It all started one stormy day when we were telling ghost stories as usual in the Audiovisual room.

"... So then..." One of my friends said in a mystifying voice.

"... The woman went back to the public restroom with the police officer..."

"... And as he'd instructed, she went inside and waited to hear the 'voice' again..."

"... After a few moments she heard a scary voice asking her.."

"_Shall I put the red veil over your face...?" _she asked raising and lowering her voice at the same time to put a creepy climax over the silent buildup of tension.

"The woman said yes and suddenly the police officer heard a loud scream! He pushed the door open and rushed in to fine..." She paused dramatically for effect.

"...The woman lying dead, covered with blood as if she were wearing a red veil. There were small holes all over her body as if someone had repeatedly stabbed her with a knitting needle." She ended lowering her voice an octave, her voice gravely with the effort- again for effect.

"No!" one of my friends shrieked obviously scared. I covered her mouth sending a warning glance her way. If we're too loud then someone will hear us. The teller of the story turned off her light as I did so.

After you finish telling your ghost story, you turn the flashlight off. Then after everyone has told their stories you count the people in the room and somehow you'll have an extra person...

….. Apparently that extra person will be a ghost.

_That was a good story, definitely one of her personal best. _A young male voice sounded.

There was one thing I forgot to mention about myself. I have a brother, and he is not exactly among the land of the living.

Its not as if he was killed or something, in fact he has never breathed a breath of air.

Our circumstance was kind of odd. He was meant to be my fraternal twin brother. The doctors say that if he had been born, he most likely would have been born blind.

He has auburn brown hair, and shining silver eyes. He is not the tallest boy around, but don't underestimate him. He actually does attend school. In our school they always have one desk open for any new students.

That and class doesn't 'feel right' if there isn't a desk open for him.

_It's your turn, do you have your story planned out?_

_**I think I do, mind doing a check to see if its OK.**_

_Its fine, the others are waiting._

Did I mention we are telepathically linked? Despite the whole being dead thing its as if he is alive.

Going over the story I nodded, gaining the attention of my friends who had started to zone out.

Its go time.

"The story starts in an old house in America. A small family of three from Japan moved into a large house that has a certain charm to it. Although its in a prime location and has plenty of room, it was relatively low in price..." I paused to look each of the girls in the eye.

"...That should have been the first warning sign."

"The family consisted of a father, a mother, and a six-year-old daughter. The child always had her imaginary friends, but upon entering the house, everything changed."

"She would always talk about her friends and how they are really tall. A lot taller than the girl had ever seen, but given that the Japanese people are not the tallest in the world, they quickly brushed it off..." A small grin wormed its way on my face.

"...That was mistake number two."

"Over time she gradually stopped talking about the tall beings, so they just thought she was starting to grow out of having 'imaginary friends'. Little did they know she had not stopped seeing them. Oh and did she see."

"She began to notice things. How they seemed to constantly watch her, as if they were looking for the perfect moment to strike. How they would loom over her despite how much she herself has grown in the years. She had not stopped seeing them, she only has started to grow fearful, fearful and quiet."

"Not telling had become mistake number three."

"In the time she waited, they grew in numbers, they grew in strength."

"One night the parents went to check on her after she did not heed their calls. What they found still scares them to this day."

"Eleven charcoal black creatures loomed, easily reaching thirteen feet in height. Their arms, their necks, their boney legs, all seemed disproportionate in length. So tall were they that they had to bend their head at the ceiling. In the center of the room lay the daughter, completely covered in freeze-burned hand-prints, in their clawed, blistered, bloody glory."

My voice lowered dramatically in volume signaling the end of the short story. The look of the faceless beings still fresh in my mind. I had a habit of talking formal when telling stories, borderline keigo, but it made it all the creepier.

During the story, two of my friends had started hugging into each other, cowering, while the last sat there frozen. My brother floated- yes floated, as annoying as that is- a few feet to my side. I grinned and snapped off my flashlight.

This seemed to snap them out of it as the girl who was frozen- Michiru- started to tell her story.

"...OK... I'll tell the story about the old school building..." She started

"Do you mean that wooden building that's half falling apart?" I asked.

"It's not just falling apart. The building was supposed to have been destroyed but they had to stop the demolition process half way through..."

"...Because of a curse."

"The building would see many fires and accidents. Some of these accidents are of a student's death, there even was a teacher's suicide. I heard that the dead body of a child was found there."

"When they tried to demolish the west wall, the roof fell through the second floor and everyone on the first floor was killed."

"When the new school building was built, they tried to completely demolish the old building again..."

"...Forcing them to stop the demolition."

"... But many of the demolition workers became sick or got in accidents. Equipment broke down..."

"Last year they tried to restart when the gymnasium was being built, but they had to stop in the middle because..."

"...The same kind of incidents started happening again. A driver lost control of his truck and it ran over some students that were on the volleyball court."

"... and on one evening, my Sempai was passing by the old building and... she saw a glowing figure in the window staring at her." I jerked slightly in surprise. Someone actually saw that?

She snapped of the light and it was time for the counting to start.

"...One..."

"Two..."

"Three..."

"... Four..."

"Five."

This caused an uproar of frightened screams. In the panic someone grabbed onto me slightly choking me.

The light flickered on and all heads snapped to the door. Standing in the doorway was a rather good looking teen in all black.

"Ah... were you the one who just said 'five'...?" One of my friends said exasperatedly.

_I don't see anyone else... _my brother sarcastically remarked.

_**Quiet you! **_I reprimanded.

"Yes... is something wrong?" The teen replied. I sweat dropped at his underlying bluntness.

"Holy cow! You scared me half to death!" Michiru exclaimed. I have to admit, he startled me pretty bad too.

"Sorry 'bout that." he apologized. His voice was smooth, feigning sincerity.

"The light wasn't on, so I didn't think anyone was in here... But then I heard your voices, so..." he trailed off, smartly avoiding finishing the sentence that would obviously upset or offend someone.

"It's okay. No worries. Are you a transfer student?" she reassured.

"Sort of." he said mysteriously. Sort of? Its a yes or no question, you can't 'sort of' be a transfer student.

"What grade are you in?" my friend said, clearly interested.

"I'll turn 17 this year." he replied. Why couldn't he just say I'm in second grade?'

_I don't know sister, maybe he dropped out of school. _My brother said examining the boy while floating.

_**He doesn't seem like the type...**_

"Then you're our sempai... one year older than us." My friends oh-so-cleverly deduced. Seriously just because you think he's cute, you guys don't have to get so exited.

Well... he actually is kind of cute... scratch that, very cute...

….but...

I don't know... something about him bothers me...

"We were telling ghost stories." Michiru exclaimed.

"Oh really? Would you mind if I join you?" Is he flirting?

"Of course not, please do! By the way, what's your name?"

"Shibuya." He replied. His tone sounded sort of strange, like he was not all that used to using that name. Did he just give my friends a fake name, oooh now I want to punch his pretty little face in.

"So, Shibuya-sempai, do you like ghost stories too?" she asked.

"...So-so." he replied. His replies are getting shorter and shorter. He gives a dazzling grin that sets the other girls off. Something is not right...

I decided to act on my suspicions.

"Shibuya-san, or whatever." He turned his attention to me, still smiling.

"Yes?" he asked.

Just as I thought...! His eyes aren't smiling, that smile is fake! Something has to be up!

_He looks stupid when his smiles don't match. I don't know how you girls can fall for that. He isn't even that good looking._

_**Well, now I know you aren't gay, I was having my doubts. **_

_Shut up! _He snapped.

"What are you doing in here, anyway?" I asked not trying to hide my unimpressed suspicions in my voice.

"I had some errands to run." he vaguely answered.

"Well then, why don't you get to your errands... 'cause we're leaving now."

"Ehhh!?" The girls screamed.

"Mai! Please ignore her, sempai. What errands do you need done? We'd be happy to help you." You could practically hear the heart in her voice. Annoyance coursed through my veins.

"I'm OK, I just need to make some dubs. But would you mind if I joined you next time you get together for ghost stories?" He asked politely. He didn't seem all that interested in the stories themselves, like this was just a game for him.

And of course my ever gullible friends completely bought it.

"Sure, how about tomorrow! After school?" What the heck, don't go separating your sentences all dreamy and exited like!

"OK. Where?"

"In our classroom! It's 1-F!" She exclaimed. I spared a suspicious glance on the way out. He merely stood there by the teachers desk, his form completely cloaked in black except for his hands and a few slivers of skin. My brother floated slowly above the desks, he strangely was silent during the whole event.

* * *

The next mourning brought a partly cloudy day. I let out a groan feeling my bones crack noisily as I stretched.

"Ahhhh... What a beautiful day. I was right about coming to school early. I have all these beautiful cherry blossoms to myself." I murmured to myself, gazing up at the trees, sighing happily.

My eyes glazed over slightly as I thought of last night. Allen had been silent all night and seemed to be contemplating something. He didn't look to be feeling all that well so I just let it be. A feeling of cold sadness swept over me as I spotted something in the corner of my eye with a start.

The old schoolhouse stood in all it's run-down glory. My thoughts recalling the stories of my friends. My mood dropped, almost to zero in no time. The way it seemed to loom scared me, as if it could fall down at any moment.

Looking at the wooden deathtrap you can easily see why one would think it haunted. It was then that I noticed something sitting half in the shadows. A camera...?

Like the kind they use for TV shows, why in the world would it be in there? To top it all off, its too dark to see any detail. I stood there contemplating for a moment then steeled my resolve.

I opened the door and walked in.

And of course the door let out a long-winded creak as it did so.

Turns out my observation was correct. I murmured my opinion out-loud, this was a terrible place for a camera. Not only to you get a small view, but it is in the center so should the ceiling collapse, it would break. It also doesn't help that its next to multiple standalone shoe racks, that's like, no number one in film class.

I went to move it to a safer place when a loud screech pierced the silence. Milliseconds later multiple white orbs of light shot in front of me, almost hitting me. The only reason they didn't was because of my further disrupted balance causing me to slam into one of the cubbies.

"O-oops. I'm sorry I was just..." I reflex-idly stammered, noticing the bookcase sized piece of furniture lean in on me.

_**Oops...**_ I thought fleetingly, unknowingly mirroring my previous statement.

The next second I was a little ways away, the raven ring staring innocently at me detached from its moment capturing counterpart.

The dust cleared and I turned to see a man who looked to be just barely nearing his thirties laying on the ground where I just stood. The smell of blood ever so faintly made its way known.

"Hey... are you okay?!" I asked, my voice a steady crescendo. I silently begged for someone- particularly my ghostly brother- to come.

I heard a step and a calm demanding voice.

"What's wrong?" the voice called out. I looked up to recognize him as the guy I met yesterday. He took another step forward, his long legs quickly taking him to the fallen man's position.

"Lin?" My guess was that that was the man's name, and that they new each other. He looked up at me asking what happened, to which I stammered a reply. My failure to speak was cut short with a crimson liquid that decided that was the perfect moment to come to its home on the ground.

"You're cut... Can you stand up?" The anger was evident in his voice as the man- I mean Lin- answered in affirmative.

"Fucking glowy-things... I'm really sorry... he said something and I got startled and.." The beginning of the rant was said in an almost inaudible whisper.

"I don't need an explanation. Do you know if there's a hospital nearby?" Black interrupted.

"Yeah. There's one right by the school entrance..." I answered ignoring that previous statements whereabouts.

"Give me a hand..." It was the closest to a request he was going to get. I nodded and moved to help, only to be rudely pushed away.

"Thanks. But no thanks. I don't need your help." Fringe denied. That was it, screw not being able to talk clearly!

"Excuse me?! It's not my fault you have terrible taste in camera placing, your just asking something to happen! Did I need you to save me? No! If you had eyes you could tell that I'm not exactly tall, I could have easily slipped in the cubby! Now let me take you to the hospital or I will take your spine out of your ass and shove it down your throat!"

Needless to say the two stoic-faces had slightly widened eyes. I grabbed Lin's arm and slung it over my shoulder. Black decided it was about time to snap out of it and started to speak.

"We met yesterday. What's your name?"

"Taniyama!" Came my short reply.

"Well. Taniyama-san. Let me give you some advice, the school bell rang a little while ago. Go to class!"

To that I gave the most withering glare I could muster, and continued to shoulder fringe with impressive strength. After reaching the threshold, I turned my head.

"My first period is still doing review, I can afford to miss if it means Fringe is given proper care as soon as possible. My gaze was drawn to something that shouldn't be possible.

Sitting under a shoe rack, was the camera with a little green light.

* * *

**With that note, we end the first chapter of Spirit Walker!**

"regular talking"

_**thoughts from Mai to Allen**_

_Allen talking to Mai_

**Couldn't put that in the beginning for this first chapter. **

**I hope you enjoyed!**

**~AzureSkyTower**


	2. Chapter 2

**The next chapter of Spirit walker is up and running. I'm surprised I'm getting this far so soon...**

_**6/22/16: Again minor grammar changes, just a few changes here and there.**_

"regular talking"

_**thoughts from Mai to Allen**_

_Allen talking to Mai_

"_**English"**_

_Summary: Mai is the sweet, idealistic, latent psychic that we have grown to love, but what would happen if Mai had a younger twin brother, a twin who was dead. A twin who managed to live out his life as a spirit._

* * *

Chapter 2

Work for a Ghost Hunter

The bell tolled, signaling the end of school. I stood putting my books away, mild frustration evident on my face.

"Oh, hey. Mai, are you going home? Remember Shibuya-Sempai from yesterday? He said he wanted to join us! Don't you want to stay?"

"No, not really."

"Don't you want to see his beautiful smile again!?"

"Really... Just.. Really..." I looked away, face disgrunted, with a sweat-drop running down the side. My brother lazily gazed in my directions, half zoned out. The girls squealed nonsense about yesterday.

"Hey, where should we meet today? It's not as spooky in here."

"Should we meet in the Audiovisual Room again?" They started going back and forth with suggestions.

"Excuse me..."

Stood a few paces away was a girl with glasses and inky black hair tied back in duel braids. She had her arms folded as if we were doing something wrong.

"Oh, Kuroda-san, we were just leaving."

"I heard you guys. What were you talking about?" She pressed on.

"We're gonna tell ghost stories again today. That's what." I answered, my friends indignant cry sounding in the background. It was obvious they didn't want her to know.

"Ghost stories!?" She yelled startled. The fight was momentarily stopped by a soft rapping on the door.

"Taniyama-san, are you in here?" He asked. Not missing a beet Allen abruptly stood up. He turned around and bent his back, his head rolled backwards as he looked at Shibuya with a cat like gaze. It all added up to a really creepy picture.

_Floating... _ he muttered

_**What?**_

No answer.

"What grade are you? What are you doing here?" Kuroda interrogated as the girls fawned over him behind me.

"Oh, I'm here to meet with these girls." He answered, impatience evident in his voice.

"A meeting? To tell ghost stories?" She practically shrieked.

"Yes, and..." His eyes flashed as he made to continue. She spun on her heel and turned on me.

"I told you to stop that nonsense! No wonder I've been having headaches since I came to school this morning." She yelled, cutting him off. Allen turned his previously focused on Black attention to her.

"I'm very Psychic, and when the spirits gather I get a horrible headache. I've been having one all day, so there must be spirits nearby. Allen narrowed his eyes, then walked up to her.

_Then, you should hear me? _He asked coldly. She cracked her eyes open in surprise, then slightly gripped her head harder.

"Don't you know what you're doing? When you tell each other ghost stories, Low-level spirits gather around. When low-level spirits gather, they call for high-level spirits that are more powerful.

_**Bullshit, they don't call anything. The higher-level spirits come to suck them dry of all energy, essentially starving them. **_My brother glanced at her then left, his eyes scanning every detail of the hall as he went.

Almost like a video, I saw what he was seeing in my minds eye. He dashed home faster than anything living could possibly achieve then returned, an Oak flute with ancient ruins lining it in his hand. His eyes shifted to Shibuya-san as he stood there holding the work of musical art.

"When that happens, It'll be too late. That's why you shouldn't be telling each other ghost stories for fun. I would expect you to know better, upper classmate. I'll exorcise for you just in case." She continued.

"I think you're just imagining all this." I wouldn't go as far as to say all of it, but Allen would have said something if there were war ghost hanging around in the building across the way, right?

"This is why I don't like dealing with non-psychic people." She spat frustratedly.

"Then tell me..."

"If you're really psychic, do you feel anything from the old building?" Black replied with an unreadable look in his eye, I can't help but feel she is wrong somehow in her previous statement.

"The old building? Oh, definitely." She stood a little taller—lying. "I believe its haunted with the spirits of old war victims."

"War victims? Which war?" He fired, clearly hearing the false pride dripping out of her voice.

"World war II of course." A beat was not missed, "I'm sure there used to be an old hospital there. I've seen the spirits of nurses and patients with bandages." He shifted his form looking as if he already knew that he won the chess match.

"Really? I didn't know there was a hospital there during world war II. I heard that the school has been here since before the war. Could it have been a Medical school perhaps?" Kuroda colored.

"I... I don't know anything about that! I just know I saw them! But those who aren't psychic like me wouldn't understand." She near yelled. I huffed, they really are getting out of control.

In the corner of my eye I notice Allen bringing the Flute up to his lips, but he seems to decide against it and lowers it back down. He then steels his resolve then brings it back up.

With a quick large breath he starts to play, and out comes a feather light melody a few octaves lower than what can normally be played on the flute. The ruins glowed softly as the haunting voice of wind lowered even more and connected in an accented harmony.

'Kinda felt like a song that you would play for a Dracula Esq character. Definitely something you would play in one of those medieval castles.

Kuroda froze again, but this time I joined her. The energy of the entire building physically shifted with every twist and turn of the song. That kind of confirmed my suspicions, she really is psychic to a degree.

"The principal mentioned that he's upset because the spirits in the old building are preventing him from demolishing it. Why don't you exorcise the spirits for him with your 'psychic power?'" He finished. Considering Floaty just validated that she has abilities, it sounded kind of cruel, but he might not know that so...

"Excuse me... Shibuya-sempai, can I cancel this evening?" Michiru interjected.

"Me, too. I don't really feel like telling ghost stories any more." The others mirrored.

"No problem. We'll do it again some other time." He shrugged if off all to easily. The girls apologised as he moved to leave, but not without Kuroda yelling whatever.

"Oh, ah, Taniyama-san..." Darn.

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you for a sec?" I froze for a second debating whether or not to make a run for it, but the steely glare he fixed me with made me decide against it.

"Sure..." I muttered wondering how he will decide to kill me.

"... Is she one of your classmates?" He asked after a few good moments of walking.

"Yeah, but... I've never really spoken to her before, all she would ever do was sit in the corner alone."

"I wonder if she's really psychic..." he pondered.

"I wouldn't doubt it, she is probably just overestimating her abilities, she wasn't wrong up until she got flustered and started spewing stuff about the war. By the way, is your friend from this morning OK?" I asked lightly.

"I wanted to speak to you about that, too. He sprained his left leg pretty badly and won't be able to stand up on his own for awhile." I blinked, does he have a concussion too, because I'm pretty sure he was bleeding from his head.

"Oh... I feel terrible, how do you know him?" seemed a little old to me.

"Assistant." One word, thanks a lot.

"Oh... but I didn't mean to do it, honest! Your boss startled me..."

"The other way around." He swiveled on his heel. "I'm his boss. He's _my_ assistant."

My mind blanked for a second as I noticed Allen was still in the room just standing there idly.

"So now... I have a problem, because my assistant is too injured to work. Don't you think you're responsible for this, Taniyama-san?" What.

"Wait a minute, do you remember anything from yesterday!? He didn't have to save me, if he didn't scream at me startling me then the shoe things wouldn't have fallen anyway! If anything I'm a victim!"

"He got hurt... What happened to you?" He rebuked. "And you broke my camera, too. Lin was... He was only trying to stop you from touching the camera. As a result this is what happened."

"You may choose to pay me back for the loss, but..."I leveled a glare than lowered my stocking to reveal bandages tightly wrapped around my calf. I had cut myself on the fall, but didn't notice until I got home, thinking it was nothing.

"Its not like I did it on purpose. Who puts a camera in between standalone large pieces of furniture under the middle area of a roof. Its an old building, you have to take things into consideration." I hold my gaze for a second than sigh.

"How much was it..."

"In Japanese yen, approximately one thousand man yen." My eyes widened slightly, no way I could afford that!

"How on earth is it that expensive!?"

"It was custom made. From Germany, I can show you the warranty if you like?" Stupid German engineering. I silently wondered how many large orders of french fries that would get me.

"If you can't pay me back..." I looked up sceptically. Warranty..? Wait..!

"Would you fill in as my assistant?" That's it? Suddenly Allen was right next to me.

_Do it, I want to see what it is like in his job. Bring it on little ghost hunter._

_**Ghost hunter? He said warranty, if he has a warranty shouldn't it cover something as simple as it falling? By the way, what was with you earlier?**_

_Little ghost hunter is sending off waves of energy and it disoriented me for a second. I managed to help right? I tested to see if Braid was really psychic._

_**Yes, little brother, you helped plenty.**_

"So I'll be your assistant...?"

"Right. Did you not hear me? It's no problem if you don't want to. Just make sure you pay me back for the camera."

"I guess it couldn't hurt." My voice sounded all too fake cheery than I had anticipated. He gave a grin and I felt my temper skyrocket.

"By the way... What do you do, Shibuya-san?

"Ghost hunting." Little ghost hunter it is then.

"The literal translation would be to eliminate evil spirits I guess. I'm with the Shibuya Psychic Research center hired by the school to do research on the old school building."

"A Psychic research center..." He took the soft tone of my voice as a question.

"Aren't you taking English." I stare at him.

"**I already am fluent in English, probably the only one as the teachers are no better than beginners." **For the record I only know it because of Allen, he is fascinated of cultures from the west. Its not the only language I know too...

"It's a research center studying psychic phenomenon. And..." Que pause for dramatic effect.

"**I'm the president.**"

"One week age, the school principal came to hire us to work on this assignment."

"He asked us to look into the phenomenon that a rash of accidents always happened when they tried to demolish the old school building."

"So you said you transferred in to hear about the ghost story about the old school building."

"My goal was to gather information among the students. And did you talk about it?" He asked

"Yeah. Michiru told us the story. Ummm..."

"Wait." He pulled out a tape recorder then told me to start.

"Well..." I recounted the entire story with Allens help to the finest detail. After I was finished he clicked it off and muttered something along the lines of 'I see'.

"So how much of Michiru's story do you think is true?" I asked.

"I know it's true that there were many people who died while the old building was in use." He flipped through his little black book. Allen hovered over his shoulder for a second.

_The writing is written completely in English, specifically in cursive. It's rather neat and from what I've read its completely objective._

_**That's good to know I guess... If he impulsively writes in English he probably isn't Japanese.**_

_I also noticed as he talks he pauses for a microscopic moment, that's probably him translating to Japanese._

"Until 18 years age when the old building was still being used as a part of the main campus... One to two people died every year." He read.

"It's also true that the roof fell in during demolition of the west wing. However... There's no evidence that any demolition workers ever died. It's also true that five people were injured, but that was caused bu human error. Not spirits." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Demolition was completed as planned. They demolished one third of the building and that was all. Since then... and this was 6 years ago... The body of a dead child was discovered in the old building." I gasped silently, no kid deserves that.

"She was a 7-year-old Who lived in the neighborhood. She had been kidnapped for ransom. The criminal was caught and arrested one month after her body was found." He flipped the page again, the light from the streetlamp next to the bench he was sitting on casting an eerie shadow on him.

"And it's also true that there was a teacher who committed suicide, but... He suffered from neurosis. They found a suicide note he had left behind." I started clapping while Allen had a grin on his face.

"Impressive! Very good research" I praised. He mearly shrugged it off saying not to underestimate him.

"So what about the 'truck that ran out of control.'" I asked a little peeved that he ignored my compliment. He pulled out a newspaper in reply, and I started to read.

Daytime High School Tragedy

Nine Students Hit.

A demolition truck with a full load of bricks suddenly veered off the road and onto the high school volleyball court. There was a gym class in session and nine students were critically injured, two of the dying soon after the accident. The driver of the vehicle was found to be intoxicated and...

"True, they had to stop demolition of the building because of that accident... But some also believe it was because of the rumors about the building." In seeing the pictures of the students who died. I felt myself growing tired, my emotions shifting sad as Allen looked at me in alarm. Shibuya started to get up.

"But none of these events convince me that the rumors are true. People may believe that the building is ill-omened, but clearly there is an explanation for each of these accidents." His words shocked me out of my zoned-out state.

"My gut tells me this assignment will not reveal anything out of the ordinary."

_The professional is using his gut, seems legit._

_**Shut up specter!**_

"What exactly do I have to help you with you look like you have it handled here." He only fixed me with a strange look.

I stood there frozen in awe. Lining the windows were high-sensitivity boom mics.

"Take those microphones down and gather them up. I'll get the mike stands."

"What do you use these boom mics for?" He looks at me in mild surprise before answering.

"I suppose microphones are generally used to collect sound."

"That's not what I was asking and you know it!"

He sighed. "It's dangerous to go into a haunted building that you're not yet familiar with. So it's important to first collect as much information as possible from outside of the building. For example, record sound from the outside of set up cameras around the building."

"Oh? So your not scared?" I baited.

"Not particularly." He answered blandly. I then thought of something.

"By the way, why are you doing this at your age?"

"Because they need me." He answers without hesitation.

"There have to have been cases you couldn't solve right?"

"Never."

Allen looks at him, grinning. _Looks like the Little Ghost Hunter is here for a reason. Wonder what he had to go through to get so successful at this age._

"How impressive! You're handsome, and on top of that you're capable of getting a difficult job done." I said blandly. He turns around with a surprised look on his face, well at least as surprised as it can get.

"You think... I'm handsome?" Have you seen your face? I rose my eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure you noticed how all my friends were fawning over you. You're not exactly ugly, though you would look better if you didn't fake your smile. You don't have to hide all of your emotions, no one will think your weak from it, if anything people will take you more seriously because they can tell your not just a kid acting grown-up that way." I ended my long speech.

Immediately he turned around, If he hadn't I would have seen his eyes widen quite a lot. I had apparently hit the nail on the head according to my brother.

Ah the advantages of being able to see from two different perspectives.

"I see... At least you have good taste."

I was shocked. He absolutely looks down on me! Of course both his looks and his title are impressive, but the most stunning thing is... His narcissistic behavior!

That's it, From now on, I'm going to call you Naru-chan.

Narussistic Naru-chan!

* * *

**Welp, there goes another chapter. If any of you are confused, the flute plays as if it was a bass version, but it is normal size. The sound is about the sound equivalent played by a Bass Clarinet to Clarinet or an English Horn to Oboe. The song was Arystar Krory from -Man OST 2. Its mainly played on Cello and Bassoon. This flute will be something Allen always keeps on his person.**

**A boom mic is those ovular mics that pick up main sounds—not background—an are used in film on those long poles, though they dont have to be on the poles. They are used to pick up really minute differences in vocal pitch, but can be adapted and are adapted by paranormal researchers in order to do what they dont normally do—pick up background sound.**

**I remember the Japanese version of the anime used word play for that last sentence there, so I kept it.**

**When I type in Japanese without capitalizing the 'J', in spell check one of the three options is duckpins. O.o**

**Hope you enjoyed!**

**Review If you liked and if there is anything you notice, constructive critisism is welcome.**

**Broke 3 thousand words. :)**

**~AzureSkyTower~**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so happy so many people like my story, It even was the first of my stories to make it on a community thingy. I recently got a Beta Reader whose pen name is Myst Silverhand...**

_**6/22/16: This chapter is edited too.**_

"regular talking"

_**thoughts from Mai to Allen**_

_Allen talking to Mai_

"_**English"**_

_**text and the title of the story**_

_**It takes me a day or two to write these if I'm ambitious and it probably will take another few for it to be beta-ed for those who were wondering what my schedule is. If nothing comes up then I could set a schedule of update on weekends and anything during weekdays would be extra, That was my schedule for when I was a Beta Reader until the story I was editing sort of got messed up with chapter order.**_

_**Anyways, onto the story!**_

* * *

_Chapter 3_

_Helping The Little Ghost Hunter._

I walked a few steps toward the large black van while holding two Boom Mics. My patience was starting to ware thin.

"Are we finished or is there more," I half demanded. There was a few clatters of metal and the raven haired teen pulled out some shelves.

"Let's carry them out." he ordered. I shot him an incredulous look.

"We're carrying all of them?"

"We're going to need everything."

"Do you really know how to use all this stuff. Shibuya-san?" I asked. Most of this stuff looked like sci-fi reject props.

"I'm smart, unlike you. Let's go." Well thanks for that.

"We're taking these inside?" I verified.

"Of course. Don' worry, I won't make you go in by yourself." Honestly that wasn't what I was asking and I doubt that to be true. He handed me three heavy brackets, so I decided to put an idea into good use.

"These are light, I can handle a few more."

"If you say so." He answered handing me four more.

_**Allen, could you help me with this?**_ The see-through boy nodded and came towards me. One touch and he was inside my body. My eyes shifted a cool silver matching his own eye-color. With the extra strength, I was able to carry the beams with ease.

Tag.

I was possessed.

We walked down the corridor at a comfortable pace, the floorboards creaking as my footfalls tapped the mahogany wood. I kept my eyes down as I followed Naru, and soon we approached the room of our destination.

Upon entering, he asked me to built a shelf while he brought in more equipment. Immediately I asked if he was planning to leave me all alone.

To which he answered "Would you rather carry the equipment? It probably weighs 40Kg..."

"I can take my chances." I replied still with my eyes down.

"Just build the shelf!" Apparently I had made him frustrated. I started to set up the shelf as he walked away. Allen instructed me as I went. I was used to having him inside me, resting in the back of my mind. For the first four of so years of our lives he stayed there, it takes a lot of energy to be out and about and as an infant he just didn't have the power or experience.

I was so engrossed in my work; I didn't notice the signs until...

BOOM!

Something in-between the boards that make up the roof shifted loudly, scaring me out of my skin. Moments later Naru slid the door open, causing me to look at him in my flustered state. Around his shoulders like a back-pack strap were power cables—something of which was not 50Kg.

We stared at each-other until he ordered me to get to work.

Should I have noticed him glancing back at me every once-and-a-while, I would have deduced that he saw my eyes.

The finished product was admittedly impressive. A wall of monitors had formed row by row on top of the shelves.

"Whats this?" I asked, in front of me was a box with two rotating disks connected by a film. It was covered my a varying assortment of dials and buttons.

"It's a tape recorder. But this one is a little special. It can record for up to 24 hours. This is what we plug our mike into." Looks a little old...

"And its purpose is...?" I drawled on.

"...I hate having to explain everything to amateurs." He replied snarkily. I slammed my hands on the table angerly.

"You knew I was an amateur when you hired me. If you've got a problem with that, then I won't help you.

We stared at each-other for a second before his gaze grew frustrated and confused. It was then that I realized once again that he was staring right into my now silver eyes. I quickly adverted my eyes before my head snapped back as if I was offended.

"Fuck off!" I snapped before fully turning away. A second later I heard a sigh.

"It's to record the sound of a ghost or anything else unusual. All day today I recorded the sound of the first floor through the window, just as a test."

"The microphone..." I muttered,

"Correct. Tonight we'll set the mike and recorder in the room."

"You don't stay overnight?" I asked, curious.

"Not yet, if there really is a ghost first I'll need to determine how powerful it is."

"You're the type of person who looks before he leaps." I observed.

"What?" he questioned.

"You're extremely careful." I clarified.

"Of course. Sometimes you encounter great danger at a haunted house. If you underestimate you might never return." I stare at him for a second—it seems we have been doing that a lot lately—and then divert my attention to a camera sitting on the floor.

"What does this camera do?"

"I don't want to talk any more." came his cold reply.

"No problem. But I might make some big mistakes out of ignorance. Is this a camera of a fancy footstool? Oops..." I acted out, my foot hovering over the expensive equipment.

"It's an infrared camera." He answered tensely. I moved my foot away from the camera making him sigh in relief.

Looking at the other equipment, he started talking, "To save you the trouble of asking, this is a thermograph. And this one is a super high-speed camera. The thermograph is a camera that's sensitive to temperature and captures temperature levels. The infrared and super high-speed cameras are used for shooting in the dark."

"Cool." I muttered.

"I may as well teach you this, too. Thermography is to measure temperatures. When a ghost appears, the temperature drops in the surrounding area."

"Well of course, when a ghost manifests it has to use energy. Using its own energy weakens it so the next best thing would be to take it out of the surrounding area—thus resulting in the temperature drop." I said, he looks at me oddly.

"If you knew that much stop asking stupid questions and get to work!" ordered the ice prince. He turned back to what he was doing and gazed at the computer with a contemplating look. A bit later I walked back into base.

"I'm back. I measured the temperature in each classroom like you asked." I answered handing Naru a clipboard with the data on it. "This digital thermometer is pretty handy."

"Nothing unusual... The temperature isn't lower in any particular area. The first floor's a little lower than the other classrooms..."

_I'm back! _Allen proclaimed loudly.

_**Where were you?**_

_Nowhere, I was just looking into floaty. _He said in a sing-song voice.

_**Floaty? Explain.**_

_All in good time._

"But not enough to matter..." he said as I tossed the recorder up in the air repeatedly.

"So does that mean this place isn't really haunted?"He snatched it out of my hand in an effort to stop me from possibly breaking it.

"We don't know that yet. Ghosts can be shy. It's normal for psychic phenomenon to stop temporarily when an outsider comes in. Anyway, this isn't helping us gather any information. First... Let's position the infrared cameras: four of them on the first and second floor hallways and one at the entrance." I deadpanned.

~After long agonizing work ordered by a slave-driving Frost Prince~

"-Ouch" After all that heavy-lifting, my lower back was seriously starting to hurt.

"you may go home now. We're done for today. The cameras will do the rest."

"Seriously. You really can't be a psychic." He would have noticed Allen right away if he was. Said ghosty had to go home when we set up the cameras.

"'Ghost Hunter.' don't confuse me with psychics."

"Well, I'm leaving now. See ya~" I muttered.

"Tomorrow, after school meet me in front of the van." What?

~The Next Day~

"Whaaat!? Then Shibuya-san isn't a transfer student!?" Both my friends screamed at the same time.

"No, no. That was just a lie."

"Hey, Taniyama-san." I heard from behind me. I turned to the voice to see Kuroda-san standing there with a curious look on her face.

"So is he a psychic? I heard he came here to do research on the old school building."

"No, Little Ghost Hunter is not a psychic. He would have noticed a few things I know you have felt." I answered. My reply was slightly affected by the specter sitting in the back of my mind.

"A Ghost Hunter?" She questioned. The girls behind my idly wondered what the difference was. Kuroda paused for a second.

"Taniyama-san. Can you introduce me to him?" What?

"You know I'm psychic, right? Maybe I can be of use to him." She offered with the happiest expression I've ever seen on her face.

"I don't think you should. His royal highness doesn't like to deal with people. I only am working with him because there was an accident and I might have broken a camera and injured his other assistant." I replied with sheepishness seeping into my voice towards the end.

"But I could still help!"

"I don't doubt that you could. The thing is, you didn't really act all professional when you first met, Naru might not have the best opinion of you."

"Hey, Mai. Why do you call him 'Naru-chan?'"

"Huh... Oh, because he's very narcissistic. So Naru-chan for short. He's also not a very nice person. So If you don't act all serious, he won't be nice to you..." I looked over to see Kuroda reading a book at her desk.

"She's always been like that. Since junior high, she's been known for being a weirdo. Ah... Kurosa-san and keiko went to the same junior high school and are from the same Naishin class."

"yeah, what an idiot calling herself psychic."

"I don't necessarily think she's lying. She is an idiot for proclaiming it, though. Most people don't believe in ghosts so if someone claims to see them often times their credibility goes down the toilet. I like to stay open-minded about stuff like that. Already with what I learned with Naru and past experience I think she really is psychic."

"You're way too nice, Mai. She probably is just in-love with him."

"Gross!"

~After School~

"Hello... What are you doing" I asked upon arriving at the van. Naru was sitting in the trunk with a clipboard in his hand.

"Reviewing the data we collected yesterday. There is something I want to talk to you about when we get inside."

"Huh... Did you find anything?

"Nothing unusual. Either there are no ghosts or they're hiding for now... so there doesn't appear to be any danger at the present time." he replied, professional as always.

"Well! Impressive equipment!" Sounded an unfamiliar voice.

Standing a few paces away was a beautiful woman with fiery red hair and matching eyes. She was wearing a light tan suit with a pencil skirt. Behind her was a man in his early twenties with dirty blond hair. His face showed of innocence and mischief.

"For kids' toys, they seem pretty fancy, don't they?" She continued.

"And you are?" Naru replied, I could tell his patients was already wearing thin.

"I'm Ayako Matsuzaki. Nice to meet you." She introduced herself.

"I'm not interested in your name." Both me and the blond haired man stifled a laugh.

"You're pretty sassy, aren't you, little boy? But handsome."

"Thanks." Narcissist.

"You know... But you can't exorcise spirits with your face." Oh? Well then how do you do it, with your feet?

"You're in the same business?" He asked, shocked.

"You could say that. I'm a Miko." What!? Naru gave a self satisfied grin.

"I thought you had to be a pure and innocent young lady to become a Miko." Pfft~

"Oh... That's not how I look to you?" she asked.

"For starters, I'd say you look too old to be innocent."

"!"

"And you wear too much make-up to be pure." Both me and Blond were outright laughing at this point. He diverted hid attention to the man.

"Any you? You don't act like you're Matsuzaki-san's assistant." He stopped laughing.

"No kidding." he stood up strait. "I'm Takigawa Houshou, a monk from Koya Mountain."

"Mt. Koya now allows long hair on their monks?

"He's an outlaw." Red answers before him while smoking a cigaret.

"I'm just taking a break!" he dismisses as she grounds the bud.

"Anyway, kids' playtime is over. We'll take over from here. The principal told me he no longer had confidence in you. Who could blame him? You're only seventeen."

"By the way, the principal thought your company was established and trustworthy because your office is located in a nice, prestigious neighborhood like Shibuya. But he mistook your name for the location and once he found out the 'president's' age, he decided to call in professionals."

"Is that so?" Naru looked away.

"But the principal is also overreacting. Gathering so many people to work on such a crappy old building."

"That's right. I would've been enough." The Monk butted in.

"Well, we'll see about that." she rebutted.

"By the way, little boy, what's your name?" she asked, diverting her attention to the teen in black.

"Kazuya Shibuya."

"Never heard of you. Must be third-class." the Monk said.

"I've never heard of Takigawa Houshou, either." Ayako countered.

"Well, you need to study harder, Actually, I've never heard of Matsuzaki whomever, either."

"Maybe you'd better study harder!"

"Taniyama-san" Came a soft voice.

"Who Are these people?" Kuroda asked.

"Oh well... a Monk and a Miko-san. They came to check up on the old building."

"Ah I'm glad. I've had trouble lately, because this old building is such a nest for evil spirits!" The twos' eyes opened exponentially.

"What did you just say?" Ayako asked.

"I'm very psychic... And I've been having trouble-"

"You crave attention don't you." Red snapped loudly. Kuroda looked heartbroken.

"-Huh?" she stuttered.

"You want to be in the spotlight? Do you want people's attention that badly?"

"That's enough out of you!" I snapped.

"If its anyone wanting attention its you!"I snapped_ "I wouldn't go as far as to say its a nest for evil spirits but this place is commonplace for wandering spirits! Anyone who has a hope to exercise anything has to know something of the spectral winds!_" Allen yelled through me. As if our spirits were a tag-team, he had full control my body.

This caused my voice to lower slightly and my eyes to shift to that cool silver that was currently flashing with rage.

"I_f she was able to sense me to a degree than she has to be psychic! You however, have nothing to back your claim to be a Miko!_"

And with that, everyone knew I was possessed. By what, they probably wont be able to figure out for a while, but they still knew.

Kuroda glared at the Miko with hate in her eyes.

"I'll call down a spirit to put a curse on you!" she growled then stormed away. A few moments later everything seemed to go back to normal as I got control of my body back.

"Hey, Naru-chan. What do you want me to do today?" His head whipped around.

"What—...Did you call me...?" He asked astonished.

"Heh..."

"Did you just call me 'Naru'?"

"Oh, darn. S-s.. sorry... I..." I stuttered.

"Where did you hear that?"

"'Naru' must be your real nickname! Hah! Just as I thought. Other people had the same idea. Naru-chan, short for narcissist."

"...Huh?" he looked at a loss for words as I patted him on the sholder.

"Anyway, what are we going to do today?"

"Well... Because there's been no reaction from the spirits, there's not much we can do at the moment... But Mai's Sempai..." he started

"Ah, you just called my by my first name."

"You mentioned that earlier too, didn't you? Do you happen to know which classroom you Sempai saw the human silhouette in?" He ignored my earlier outburst.

"Well... I believe it was in the far west corner of the building, On the second floor." I recalled.

"OK. Let's set the equipment up in there."

"Ahh... sure."

I turned my head to see two figures walking towards us in the distance.

* * *

**I wounder who it is? :P**

**I find it hard to believe that someone so into ghost stories wouldn't know anything about ghosts themselves.**

**Not quite as long as the last chapter but you get to meet the Ghost Hunt Irregulars.**

**Anyways I hope you enjoyed the chapter and look forward to the chapters to come.**

**REVIEW! *Strikes a pose and points dramatically at you with both hands***

**~AzureSkyTower~**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so sorry! Its a few weeks late, I know. I'm just going to save my excuses...**

_**6/22/16: This is updated too.**_

"regular talking"

_**thoughts from Mai to Allen**_

_Allen talking to Mai_

"_Ghost"_

"_**English"**_

_**text and the title of the story**_

~line breaks~

**Hope you enjoy~**

_Chapter 4_

_The investigation begins_

Two figures made their way to our position, one I recognized as my principal and one I hadn't seen before.

It was a boy who had to be no older than me with golden blond hair and crystal clear blue eyes. He was wearing a sweater over what looked to be a button up shirt or polo, with a jacket rolled up in his arms.

"Oh, hello. How are things coming along?" The old mad asked. My principal had his white hair slicked back, he was wearing a suit with stripes on it and had a maroon tie on. All eyes were on him.

"We have one more guest joining us. I'd like you to meet John Brown." He gestured to the teen. Getting a closer look, all suppositions were confirmed, he was definitely a foreigner.

John had an innocent look about him, his wide eyes seemed to grin along with his mouth.

_Whoa, now that's just impressive. _My brother muttered. His ghostly features contorted into a look of awe.

Ayako did not look amused.

Brown gave a bow, his angelic aura never leaving him. Then, he spoke.

"Hello"

We all gave him a flat look.

"I'm John Brown. It's a pleasure to meet you." He continued on.

"Apparently, ah... Brown-san learned Japanese in the Kansai area..." The elderly man said with amusement in his eye. He then excused himself and John thanked him with a very deep bow.

Behind us were Ayako and Takigawa laughing their heads off, scolding each-other lightly for laughing.

"Brown-san? Where are you from?" Naru asked.

"I'm from Australia."He answered.

"Hey, dude! I'm begging. Please don't speak in such a weird Kyoto dialect!"

"Y_ou don't have to laugh so hard..._" Both me and Allen simultaneously muttered.

John gave a wide-eyed innocent look. "But, if I want to speak politely, shouldn't I speak in a Kyoto dialect?" They burst into laughter again.

"The Kyoto dialect is just one of many! Trust me on this, You need to stop it, OK?" The monk answered.

"OK..." Brown replied, looking helpless

"Then I'll try to speak more casually. Are all of you Psychics?" He said, not dropping the formality once.

"You might say that... How about you?" Naru asked.

"I see, I'm an Exorcist." The two laugh-y taffy's in the back froze at his words.

Naru continued. "In Catholicism, I believe you have to be ranked higher than a priest to become an exorcist. You're very young even to be a priest." He finally stood up from the van.

"You are very knowledgeable. Actually I'm nineteen. I just look young for my age." I gaped at him, he was older than Naru! The golden haired boy bowed again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

~Care to give death a try?~

"... So, your equipment..."

"You have quite a collection of expensive gear. How unfortunate that all your efforts have been in vain." _**Yes, vain you are.**_

"I'm impressed. The president of a research center with all this professional equipment. He must know what he's doing." she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Did you come here to play around or to find a ghost?" Naru half-taunted, it seems even he is getting annoyed by their ploy.

"Agh! Whatever. This is why I don't like kids!" Takigawa yelled.

Tag.

Allen walked up to John grinning with his eyes closed. We put my hand on his head and leered. "_Funny how Black was the only one who didn't laugh at John's dialect, I admit even I had to stifle a laugh. And you are calling him the child! Ha, don't make me laugh."_

Everyone kind of stared at us as we stopped ruffling the older boys hair. The two left as Allen crawled back to the back of my mind to sleep.

Brown-san turned to Naru. "I feel a bit awkward. I'd like to help so do you mind if I stay?"

"Please do." Oh, so now you decide to use manners. Something catches my eye, The thermograph. I studied is quietly. John must have taken that as I didn't know what it was.

"I believe it's a thermographic image. Yellow represents higher temperatures, and in contrast, blue represents lower temperatures." I decided to humor him.

"I see... Thank you. You're kind, Brown-san." He blushed scarlet with a sheepish look on his face.

"It was nothing... and you can just call me John." Adorable.

Something on the monitors caught my eye, like everything seems to be doing today. In the front lobby there was a girl with charcoal black hair wearing a kimono.

"Naru, someones here!" I yelled in alarm. His head snapped to the monitor and we watched the girl make her way to our position.

She opened the door, it creaking with the effort, and I hid behind John.

"Mai-san, it's OK. She's not a ghost." John said trying to calm me down.

"She doesn't have to be a ghost to be creepy! I probably could handle a ghost but the living can be just _weird." _I whisper-yelled at him. He just looked at me with a bewildered look on his face.

Naru looked peeved "The principal must really want to demolish the building pretty badly if he invited you." Scratch that, he looked ready to explode.

Just how many important people do I have to meet for this? Naru-chan, who is a ghost hunter... A miko-san and a Monk... A psychic medium... John, who is a priest. It it what serious that five professionals had to come here?

"Na-" I started, but was interrupted by a loud bang followed by a scream.

I froze as Allen came back to the forefront of by mind-scape.

"What was that?!" The long haired Monk yelled.

"It sounded like Matsuzaki-san's voice." John replied. A banging echoed throughout the entire building.

"-Over there." Naru tracked the banging to a doorway down the hall.

"Open up! Please open this door!" Ayako screamed, seeming to be trapped in the room. Naru grabbed the handle and tried to open the stubborn piece of wood.

"Strange." Takigawa commented,"Let me try." He stepped forward and moved to do the same thing Naru had done before.

"It won't open. I'm going to have to kick it in! Ayako, move back!" He warned.

"Hey, don't call me by my first name!"

He took a step back and raised his left foot. With great force he slammed his foot into the door, basically snapping the door in half and causing it to fall to the floor. When it hit the Mahogany boards, it revealed a shaken looking Miko.

~1000 minus 7, minus 7, mi-nus-se-ven-e-quals whaaat?~

"I was chacking out the classroom when all of a sudden the door closed by itself and wouldn't open" Ayako explained before sipping on a can of soda.

"You're sure you didn't close it your-self?"

"Yes I'm sure!" she snapped back enraged. "There's definitely something in there."

"I don't sense it at all. There are no spirits in this building." Kimono said looking strait at Allen. He just smirked then continued polishing the oh-so-mystical flute.

"Who do you think you are?"

"You're making light of my being a psychic aren't you!? Aren't you a little embarrassed of being scared by a door that wouldn't open?" The medium taunted.

"Shut up, you little jerk! I'm a professional, unlike a fake psychic medium who got popular just because of her looks!" Ayako screached.

"Thank you for the compliment on my good looks." The younger female shot back.

"I think what I just experienced was caused by a Chirei that lives on land." Red said haughtily.

"Chirei? You mean a Jibakurei?" I asked, not used to the technical terms.

"No I don't. Jibakurei are human spirits trapped in a particular location because of something that happened there. Chirei are earth bound spirits... also know as 'Seirei.'" She said helpfully.

"I think it was an act by a Jibakurei. I wonder if something happened to this building in the past? My guess is, there's a ghost that's afraid of losing its home and is trying to prevent the demolition." Takigawa contemplated.

"What do you think John?" Naru asked turning the groups attention to the blond priest.

"I don't really know. Isn't the phenomenon of a haunted building usually caused by a spirit of ghost?" That was so helpful, even my school friends could figure that much out.

"**Spirit**... **soul**... A ghost is a Yurei. Are you listening Mai?" Black questioned.

"**If anything wouldn't a Yurei be closer to a demon, you seem to be forgetting the fact that I know English. It's dangerous to be playing with a nail, **_**Black.**_" I drawled, my temper getting the best of me. Next to me John looked at me surprised while the Monk and Miko only looked confused.

Allen smirked. _My logic is undeniable. _I scoffed.

_**You have so got to die.**_

_I'm already dead genius._

_**You're the one who started this game. **_I snapped back.

"So if a psychic phenomenon is caused by spirits, It would mean that Chirei have a close connection with the location, or it could mean that the spirits have called for the devil..." John contemplated recovering.

"If the phenomenon was caused by a ghost, that would mean it was an act by Jibakurei." He continued.

"So don't you think it was caused a chirei/ It's a Jibakurei right?!" Red and ponytail snapped simultaneously.

"Wa~ I can't tell for sure." John sweat-dropped.

"Anyway! I just need to exorcise it, right? I'll take care of it tomorrow." Ayako said haughtily, waving her goodbyes.

"I couldn't stand being involved with a crappy incident like this for much longer."

After a few moments Masako started talking. "What a waste. As I said, there are no spirits here." She glanced at Allen.

"But there are so many stories about this building. And how do you explain Miko-san getting locked in that room just now?" I asked, glancing at the headphone-clad boy. He was dancing to some kind of rock song.

"That was her overactive imagination." She replied simply, as if it was plain to see.

_But..._

_**Both Naru and the Monk tried to open the door and they couldn't.**_

_And as the Monk was saying..._

_**Could the Miko-san have locked it herself?**_

_Probably not, but you should be careful. Something is going on here. I actually agree with Miss Priss, there are no ghosts here other than me. _We finished our mental tug-of-war, not pausing from the rhythmic swaying once.

"I've been meaning to ask you... Have we met somewhere before?"

"No... I believe this is the first time." Naru gave his reply.

"Is that right...?" The obsidian eyed girl mumbled, seeming to be deep in thought. I closed my eyes in annoyance.

"Naru! The sun is about to set." I noticed.

"Ah... We need to put our equipment in the second-floor classroom in the far west corner of the building." He half-commanded looking out the window.

"Oh young one, you're not staying over tonight?" …..Careful Monk, your old man is showing.

"Not tonight... Mai."

"Tomorrow after school. Please be prepared to stay."

"Huh? Tomorrow is Saturday!"

"Would you rather pay me back for the camera?" _**No but I have better things to do than spend my weekend with a begrudgingly handsome narcissist.**_

"I'll be ready." I sighed.

* * *

"Masako Hara!?"

"You mean the lady that's on TV? She was trying to pick up Naru." My friends interrogated me. Michiru had her hands on my desk, the other two standing by her.

"She's a very pretty lady..." Said my friend to her right. She had a depressed look on her face, it didn't fit in my opinion, with her perfect little pig-tails.

"Yeah..." I said with a sweat-drop.

"Hey, don't be concerned about him! He's dishonest, a liar, has a mean streak, is a narcissist, and..." I snapped, trailing off at the end.

"But he's handsome." Michiru rebutted.

"For women, it's all about the charm! Right." She continued.

"Whatever you say." I mumbled in answer.

Just then I noticed something in the corner of my eye. Kuroda was standing there gazing at me with a curious look in her eye. She noticed my look and silently left.

Lately every time I turn around Kuroda-san is staring. I wonder why...

_**I hope she's not going to ask if she can join us.**_

_What makes you think she's looking at you?_

I opened the door to base, finally done with the short but long trek to the old schoolhouse.

"Hello!" I stopped in the doorway, startled.

"What are you doing here?" That came out a lot meaner than I had hoped it to be.

"Nothing really... Just looking around. Shibuya-san isn't here yet, is he?

_**Your here to see him?**_ "-Oh..."

"How did it go yesterday?" She asked, pointing at the monitor.

"Nothing new... Naru said nothing was unusual. You shouldn't touch anything. Naru would get upset." I said looking at her from where I was standing a little ways to her right.

"Anything else?" She pursued.

"... The Miko-san got stuck in a room but they couldn't confirm whether it was due to a psychic phenomenon or not."

"Why?" She glared.

I only smiled, but my eyes involuntarily narrowed, destroying the effect.

"The psychic medium said there are no spirits here."

"By psychic medium, do you mean Masako Hara? She's a fake." she boldly declared.

"Excuse me?"

"She's popular on TV because of her good looks, But she's not a real psychic."

"There are spirits here. Very strong ones..." She looked at my with a dead look in her eyes.

"But... You're the only one who's feeling it. There is no actual proof that a spirit is attached to this location." Something seemed really off, and Allen wasn't here to help find out what. Why he has been wandering off so often lately I don't know but he would be really useful right about now.

"I was attacked by spirits a little while age." My eyes widened exponentially. The only powerful spirit even near hear could only be Allen. _** Just what is going on here.**_

"It's true." She must have taken my reaction as total disbelief. "I was walking in the Hallway and suddenly something started pulling my hair from behind. I tried to run away from it and it choked me..."

"_Your Psychic energy is so strong that you're an obstacle..."_

We held a staring contest for a few seconds then I had the crap scared out of me.

"What's going on?" called a loud voice. I gasped as my head snapped in its direction, wincing from whiplash.

"-Naru!" I exclaimed.

"... When did that happen?" He must have hear the tail-end of our conversation.

"Just now." Kuroda-san answered.

Naru-chan walked over to the array of monitors and flipped them on.

"Let's replay the video. Where were you?" He asked.

"The second-floor hallway."

He rewinded the video to where it first showed her on the screen.

It showed her walking in the front door, stepping around the fallen shoe racks. She wandered around the corner where the cameras switched again. One off to the side in the second-floor hallway discretely flickered to fuzz and I alerted Naru to it.

"Is it broken...?" I wondered quietly.

"Everything is operating as it should be. And the camera shouldn't be broken." He answered with a far-off look in his eyes.

"This is very interesting." He mused.

"What is?"

"When the spirit appears, suddenly the machine stops working properly."

"I wonder if this was caused by a spirit, or trouble with the radio waves, or..." He trailed off with a seemingly untouchable aura.

A few moments later he turned his head to Kuroda. "You mentioned it said something. What did it sound like?"

….Hmm... Must have heard more of the conversation than I had originally thought.

"It was a hoarse voice... But I believe it was a female." She answered simply.

"But Masako said there was no spirit." I urged.

"I wonder if she truly is psychic." She snapped at me.

"It is normal for a female medium to have a bad day once in a while. I thought I could rely on her talent. Or... let's say there really is a spirit here." he paused a moment.

"And perhaps you and the spirits are on the same wavelength."

"Yea... That may be why..." she looked overjoyed.

I honestly liked it better like that.

Pausing for a second, I thought of something. "Hey, if one of the tapes was messed with, maybe more were. We should check them to see."

Naru held my gaze for a few moments, before turning away. He pulled a tape out of the box next to the monitors and started playing it. On screen a very familiar vantage point presented itself.

It was the day I hurt Naru's real assistant.

It showed me walking in, my curious questions and criticism of the placement of the camera.

And it also showed me getting distracted by something invisible flying bye as a sharp whistle rang through the air.

* * *

**I am sorry the chapter came so late, I truly am! And after I promised weekendly updates... Its just with winter break coming up I have had a whole slew of projects being assigned. That's the only drawback with November having only one full school week, all the work must be squeezed into the days we do have school. I'll try my hardest to get a chapter out on my birthday next Sunday.**

**I have to say, at first this chapter was slow to write, I'm pleased in how it turned out. **

**If there are any problems you see, alert me immediately. I encourage as much criticism as possible, Its impossible to fix what I don't know about. When you do though, make sure its understandable, I had a guest review where I didn't see entirely what they meant, like half a conversation was cut out.**

**There was something to notice. Something that has appeared in past chapters and will go one in chapters to come. If anyone asks about it confused I will only tell them to think.**

**Did anyone catch the reference? If you did, tell me where it is and I will hand you my freshly baked batch of virtual cookies.**

**Hope you enjoyed!  
**

**~AzureSkyTower~**

**Hiya readers, thank you for supporting Sky, each review gives her more ability to write and get another chapter to you! Read and review for a package of cyber cookies from us! Love you,**

**Myst Silverhand (I'm the Beta of this story.) XD 3**

**P.S. Ghost Hunt still belongs to someone other than AzureSkyTower or myself, depressing as that is...**


	5. Chapter 5

**I know that I have been gone for a long time. In fact, most of this chapter had been done for more than a year.**

**I was reading some of the reviews, and you guys are so awesome! I stupidly had only been reading the guest reviews before. :P**

**I have a few questions that have been asked that will be answered in the end of the chapter AN.**

_**6/22/16: This is a chapter I revised with a bit more important information, not that the last chapters didn't have important revisions, they all had some foreshadowing added in, but this is important for clearing up misunderstanding. Plus I changed the song.**_

"regular talking"

_**thoughts from Mai to Allen**_

_Allen talking to Mai_

"_Ghost talking"_

"_**English"**_

_**text and the title of the story**_

~line breaks~

**Hope you enjoy~**

* * *

_Chapter 5_

_Exorcisms everywhere._

The morning arose with the smell of cherry blossom and the chirping of small birds of varying colors. A soft chatter echoed in the old halls as my principal talked to Ayako.

The red haired women was wearing full on Miko attire, her long hair loosely pulled back in a low bearing ponytail. In front of her was an alter of sorts with various ceremonial trinkets and some tree branches. In the center rested a round mirror on a pedestal.

"OK, pay attention. I'll exorcise it, no problem." She said confidently, the three guests standing off to her side.

"I wonder if she's really able... I guess I may as well check it out. What about you?" Takigawa-san asked absentmindedly.

"I've never seen a Shinto-style exorcism. I guess I'll check it out too." Sounded the black haired male beside him.

The Miko waved a stick with many folded slips of paper tied to it around. She lightly shook the paper clad stick up once every time she reached the end of each swing.

After a moment she started to speak.

The words she spoke were strange. That's really the only way to describe it, not exactly something you hear every day. They held a mystical feel, but at the same time, retained an emptiness all throughout.

It felt as if something was missing.

"What's this? What is she saying?" I decided to voice my confusion.

"Be quiet. You're Japanese and you don't even know about Norito?" Naru chided.

"Norito?" I asked bewildered.

"It's a ritual prayer offered to a Shinto god." He answered, his patients running thin.

Either she didn't hear us or made no commitment to show she did, because Ayako continued the prayer without faltering. She continued on, her swinging becoming more urgent as she put her whole body into the exertion.

Despite this, her voice stayed ever calm, with unshakable power as she borderline demanded help from the gods with her tone alone.

After a few more verses, her words hit an ending note, and she carefully lowered the stick with a sigh.

"Now you can feel relieved." She assured.

"Wow! Very impressive. How shat I put it... It felt heavenly." My principal complimented.

"Shall we all go out for drinks to celebrate tonight?" He continued as we made our way outdoors, yawning as we went.

"To be on the safe side, we'll spend the night here so that we can make sure everything is OK." She said calmly.

"I'm impressed, you are indeed a professional. Why don't we go have lunch somewhere?" Her reply was cut off from a groan coming from the doors next to the four adults. Suddenly spiderweb cracks littered the windows. I felt dread fill my being as they let out another moan and gave way, large shards of glass sent hurtling towards Ayako and the older man.

Tag.

We rushed to them faster than should be possible and shielded the two. Allen used the energy built up from resting overnight to send the larger shards out of harms way.

I noticed a good sized chunk of razor sharp glass flying towards my principal and reacted immediately. I forced my body to comply through the strain and snatched the class right out of the air, it cutting my hand.

In a test of will both me and Allen forced all the energy—both converted and ghostly—out of my body. A clear, almost unnoticeable wave of air shoved all the remaining glass off its trajectory, a few going the wrong way and cutting the two charges.

"Was that...?"

"Are you OK!?"

The scramble to asses damage control was panicked and loud. I heard a smug laugh and glanced to the side, adrenalin wearing off.

"No need to worry?" Kuroda mocked, a strange emotion seeping into her voice that neither living nor dead could discern.

"You didn't properly eliminate the spirits, The school principal got hurt because of you." _**No thanks to you! **__**Seriously, You're a medium, shouldn't you at least try to help those who came to get rid of the spirits. I thought you said they give you headache!**_

I glared silently at the inky-haired girl as I gingerly rested one knee on the ground. I unsteadily walked to my school backpack that I had dropped in the confusion and pulled out a long rectangular case. The others looked at me curiously as I undid the latches and lifted the top.

Inside laid an extremely old flute; ebony in color with almost ivory colored ruins lining the smooth surface. I carefully eased it out of its confines, and lined my fingers up with the correct fingerings.

_**OK, how am I supposed to play it.**_

Don't get me wrong, I know how to play flute, its just this one is a little particular.

_To make sure that the energies don't reject each-other and cause a storm, we need to know what kind of energy is used in the Miko's prayer. Trust me, it was real, but I think it wasn't applied as well as it could have been._

_Her religion heavily involves trees, right?_

_**I think so, I may not know much about it but I remember the boy who sits in front of me in class being a heavy believer.**_

_You need to play a song that has heavy melodic imagery on forests._

_**I think... Yes, will this song do?**_

_It's a Symphony, can you do it?_

_**Yes.**_

_Then play both, if you do it correctly then the ruins should glow the color mainly found in forests._

(The song is Peter Crowley's _A treacherous Path_ but... its slowed down... ehehehehehe)

I brought the instrument up to my mouth and took a few deep breaths. A few moments of being stared at by the narcissist out of the corner of his eye and I started playing.

Out of the Relic Flute flowed a dark yet upbeat melody. I lightly tapped my foot in time, Vibrato following it on every prolonged note, speeding up impossibly at some parts while bouncing sluggishly at others, feathery steps yet low blows.

The sound of the Forest Legion, a symphony of one.

The effect was instantaneous as the low, rich timbre echoed in the mahogany halls. All heads snapped my way, and the energy seemed to shift. The monk and Miko stiffened and the resident mediums' eyes widened as the ruins glowed a deep forest green only to their eyes.

Like a vortex, energy from the woods outside of town shuffled into the small building, and was steadily absorbed by the ghostly figure sitting facing me. His eyes flashed a silvery white as ethereal green wisps of energy unwind from his form.

They inch their way toward me, then suddenly whip out, latching onto my frame. He starts pumping a gradual amount of the converted energy into my tired assemblage

That's how it worked, I call energy, he takes some then processes about half so it can be sent to me.

It's how we figured out how to recover generally fast and not have to use up our own life energy. This makes it safer for Allen to be around, that way he can take environmental energy as opposed to energy taken from living beings.

The song came to a close, I still felt tired but it was much more manageable.

For all the energy he gave me, it not that much. The fact being the main reason most dead take the livings energy, other energies are like air to water. One needs to be condensed a whole lot to equal the other.

… _**I was hoping to not have to use this, to be true... Make them forget?**_

_Hehe, I can't fully take the memory out of their mind, but they will not think about it. _Allen said, his eyes flashing a brief Jade color with leftover power.

Not looking at the others, I packed the ancient music maker away and stood up shakily. In the time I had been playing the others thoroughly argued about how the spirit may be too powerful for Ayako.

"–Huh...?" Naru blurted. I turned my attention to him.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"In the classroom where we put the camera—there was no chair in the middle of the room, was there?"

"No...? I took temperatures there earlier, and I could have sworn it wasn't there." I said delicately.

"Did anyone go to the room in the far west corner of the building" He said as if demanding the information out of us. He re-winded the monitors and reached a point where the chair wasn't there. I noticed the time stamp was when the glass incident happened.

Various sounds came out of the monitor along with the Principal's request of lunch. Strange creaking sounds made there way through the speaker under the Priestess' high pitched scream. Silence reigned for a second before an ominous rumple came from out of no where.

Once, Twice. An inch. Two more. Soon a simple wooden chair slid its way to the middle of the room seemingly on its own power.

_**Did...Do you know what that was, brother?**_

_There was no one here, no one. A distinct lack of presence—this was not caused by any kind of ghost._

I pursed my lips. "What's Happening?" I asked Naru, with no answer.

"It's a poltergeist. I believe the word means 'loud spirits.' Poltergeists make objects move, or they make noises. Isn't that right, Shibuya-san?"

"That's absolutely correct. But I don't think this was a poltergeist. Objects that are moved by a poltergeist should feel warm to the touch, but it doesn't seem like this chair has gone up in temperature. That would be very unusual." He replied

"But... is there any other evidence that would let us categorize it as a poltergeist?"

"Tezanne." He answered.

"E. Tezanne. He was a French police officer. He classified a poltergeist. Explosions, opening or closing doors, noises, knocks... a total of nine categories. Phenomena that have happened here so far are: a door closing and locking by itself, a moving object... even if we were to include the broken glass that gives us only three categories."

"I think we lack enough evidence to assume that it's a poltergeist."

"Well, what about when Kuroda-san got attacked?" I put out.

"Yeah, what about that!?" She yelled.

Naru turned to me. "She did? Why didn't anyone tell me that!?" He snapped glaring at me. I glared right back.

"So... now what?"

"Ah... Masako-chan, What would you say?" John asked

"I say she's just paranoid" The small girl said completely disregarding the fact that the bespectacled girl is standing right next to her.

"Why don't you admit it now!? There are evil spirits here!" Kuroda yelled.

"Oh I wouldn't say evil" I murmured with a slight smile. Ayako gave me an odd look.

"Got anything to say, Mai? Last time I checked you are no spiritual, so how would you know if there is anything here at the moment? Or on that note what it may be?" She asked with a single brow raised.

Tag.

"_The only thing saying that the spirit is evil is Kuroda's attack. Spirits are greatly affected by the emotions of others, given that for the most part they aren't grounded to earth with a body. If there is a spirit here it could easily have been neutral, but reached out in anger with her own frustration in not being believed" _Allen answered through me.

Kuroda's eyes flashed in anger. "Why won't you admit that you made a mistake? There has to be spirits here!"

We turned to her. "_I never said there were no spirits. Having no spirits is extremely unnatural. There are **always** spirits around. They may not be tied to the building but drifting spirits are everywhere."_

"_In fact, they almost look like fireflies when left undisturbed. Its understandable that they give you headaches if you are unable to discern residual memories from intelligent hauntings" _Allen finishes, his eyes boring into the girl.

"... I am going to check inside again. There are no spirits in this building." Masako said after a moment of contemplation.

"It looks to me like she is in a state of shock." Ayako commented on Masako's abrupt leave.

"Of course. A psychic is a psychic because she can see spirits when an ordinary person could not. If you mess that up, you will not be considered a psychic." John supplied.

I paused for a second then looked Kuroda directly in the eyes. "Just because Masako cannot sense any spirits in the building, does not mean she is any less of a psychic medium. No one will be able to sense every spirit, spirits contain the ability to deceive and fool mediums with ease, depending on their personal abilities."

With that every one was staring at me.

_**Think I overdid it, brother of mine?**_

…_. A bit, sister of mine. It would be boring if we were to give up each-others abilities so early on. With all that has been said and done as of late I wouldn't be surprised if the smarter of the bunch figure it out with just this._

_Tone it down a bit. I'll hide within your shadow. Its close enough to you that I can rest but will not make such an obvious change that one could see it if they looked._

"Um... well, I like to watch various TV mediums and on some of them that in emphasized a ton. She is human too." I waved off their looks nervously.

"I'm well aware of her accomplishments and I do have praise for her talent. Don't you agree I should at least treat her with respect?" Naru said.

"I suggest you also pay a little more respect to us." Ayako said self-importantly.

"What part of you should I have respect for" Kuroda shot back.

"What did you just say?!" Ayako screeched in outrage.

Suddenly the whole building seemed to shake and moan.

"A rapping sound?" Bou-san questioned.

Aa_A__**Aa**_**A**AHh_H__**Hh**_**H**

"A scream?!" I asked. "... Hara-san!"

"Hara-san fell from the classroom on the second floor!" John yelled in alarm after checking the monitors.

* * *

**Alright. Time for some answers.**

**As for the updating problem, this has mainly been disinterest in writing and writers block. For more than a year I have been firmly stuck in the whole that is Harry Potter. I have read more than 45 pages of stories in the top favorited stories of Harry Potter. Then I moved on to more obscure stories in the franchise. Even so it will be a long while before I ever write a story for said franchise.**

**As it stands I find I can only write for Ghost Hunt when watching Ghost Adventures—something that thank god is back in season. I will never abandon a story, I WILL finish this story, and hopefully I can get back into writing pretty quickly.**

**My writing style has changed, but I hate when people discontinue a story due to that so I will just keep writing. :)**

**As for questions about Allen, Allen Walker is from the anime D. Gray-Man. Now he certainly is taken strait from him, this Allen has gone through the thorough personality change and character building that comes from sitting in my mind and having more and more back story built. He is almost unrecognizable except for the name and the character design.**

**A lot has happened since the last time I updated. I started High school, went through the madness that is Marching Band, and got a boyfriend (:D).**

**Until next time**

**~AzureSkyTower**


	6. Chapter 6

6/24/16: This chapter has been edited, at this point I'm just putting this note here so you know that this one is done too, I _am_ going through all of them.

"regular talking"

_**thoughts from Mai to Allen**_

_Allen talking to Mai_

"_Ghost talking"_

"_**English"**_

_**text and the title of the story**_

~line breaks~

**Hope you enjoy~**

* * *

_Chapter 6_

_Kaleidoscope of activity_

"That's the room where the chair moved earlier, isn't it?" I asked.

"A weak veneer was attached to the west wall to protect the room from wind and rain. When Hara-san leaned on it, the veneer broke and she fell through. She even said herself 'It was my own stupidity. It was just an accident. There are no spirits in this building.' when I talked to her." Naru said.

"She's just being stubborn. I still think there are spirits here." Ayako said with a superior look on her face.

"Spirits that you couldn't completely get rid of, which means they are more dangerous." Takigawa said

"Dangerous you say?" I ask.

"Spirits that escape and exorcism are as dangerous as a wild beast. And they become extremely violent." He answers.

My eyes narrow into slits. "Oh? Well, then its your fault. You _hurt _them. Of course they are going to attack! Its your fault Masako was injured!" I snapped at Ayako, getting extremely pissed at the red haired miko.

"Don't jump to conclusions!" she snapped back at me.

"As far as I can deduce from the tape, it was a legitimate accident." Naru's voice rang ever calm in the spitfire.

"Then..!" I started. "There may be a logical explanation to all of this... But accidents keep happening! Is the building not haunted or cursed when unexplainable accidents happen? Do the accidents suddenly make any evidence void? If so how did those objects move?! None of this makes sense!" I end screaming.

_Calm, Mai. _Allen's voice cut through my rage.

Those two words made my freeze, it felt almost like both warm and cold water was running over my skull, just behind my eyes. I felt like I was breaking through... something. An energy... cocoon?

My shock must have shown on my face, because Naru seemed to be very deliberate and slow with his next words.

"There's something fishy going on here that doesn't quite make sense. There is absolutely no reaction on any of the equipment. The temperature and Ion counts are stable. The amount of static is normal. All of my data shows absolute normality." He said slowly.

"But what about the Miko-san getting locked up? And me getting attacked?" Kuroda burst out "the video getting cut off, glass broken, blackboard cracking... what about the moving chair!?" She screamed, almost an exact replica of the tone I had just a moment ago.

"That's why I said it doesn't make sense." He replied.

"The spirits may be so strong that they can fool us into thinking they're not here." The blond haired Monk suggested.

"...I don't think so... If the spirits were so strong as to do that, there would have been more stories, more sightings. Other thank what has happened since we got here, the schoolhouse has not had much activity."

Naru turned to me "You seem to know plenty about paranormal activity, Mai, care to share?"

I smirked "You really think I'm just a little high-schooler telling ghost stories?" I walked over to the monitors.

"You've been sneaking the slightest of glances to the door, I'll watch the equipment, you go do whatever is eating your ass." He gave me an odd look and walked out the door.

"I'll share my opinion later. The mike is connected to the van, so if something happens just talk to me." He said.

_You noticed that? _Allen asked with a start.

_**Of course, you noticed it. Observations like that are like someone's phone ringing on the subway.**_

_Didn't know my thoughts were that annoying._

_**Oh hush. You know that's not what I meant.**_

_Whatever._

I turned to my brother discreetly. _**You felt it too, right? I think something is influencing my thoughts, and I bet its affecting the others too.**_

…_. Yes, though influencing thoughts is a bit too far, I'd say its more along the lines of influencing emotions. Your emotions are the root of your thoughts, yes, but whatever it is does not have the power to directly implant suggestions in your mind._

I fiddled with the SP7-Spirit Box as the two blond spirituals left over stared at me. I walked up to John.

"Are you going to start your exorcism? A good indication of if there are malevolent spirits is if they have a reaction to the words of a catholic priest. Your power is only over those that fear your god's wrath. Other religions work on getting spirits to find balance and move on, but your religion has power to do harm." I said, stormy gray eyes shining with barely restrained knowledge.

"That's...correct" He said slowly.

I start abruptly. Blinking wildly, my eyes a deep brown.

"I'm sorry, I zoned out a bit there. That happens sometimes, I'll black out for hours and my friends will say that at that time I oddly get all the answers right when asked questions by the teacher." I said brightly, internally panicking.

I turn around. "I'm going to watch the monitors as you start praying, maybe I can catch something!" I finish with an exaggerated wink.

"O..k..." the oddly silent monk says suspiciously, giving me a peculiar look. Both men leave the room.

* * *

_I don't think you should let them know about me so soon, you only just met them and while they may have spiritual capabilities, I am not completely convinced they are not complete frauds. _Allen said looking distraught.

_**They're not stupid. That appeasement ceremony we did with your flute does not help at all. I don't know about you, but I did not feel any spirits leaving.**_

_I'm the ghost here, If anyone would know, it would be me. _I_ am the one who lives in the spirit realm. All I am seeing is the floating spirits._ He snapped.

_In fact, there are a lot more after we played, all the forest spirits have gathered and are tittering. None of them have the power to breach the veil, though. _He started to pace.

_**The forest spirits? **_I asked, intrigued. **_See if you can contact the more powerful ones._**

_I will not be able to contact the forest spirit, I'm not willing to go so far into the forest without you there, and you are needed here. _He said dipping his head in the direction of the monitors. As they switch into infrared.

I nodded. _**Anyways, we just need to be more careful from now on, because if they figure it out with any other stunt we do, they will remember the flute incident.**_

He faded away.

* * *

"Ah, he's back. John's about to start his exorcism."

The Aussie stood inside the classroom wearing long black priest robes. A purple scarf hung around his neck with golden crosses embroidered on its ends. He held a leather-bound book.

The tension could be cut with a spoon as he took a deep breath and splashed Holy Water in the sign of the cross.

"Heavenly god... Please allow us to worship you. Your soul becomes our heaven, and the earth." He finished his personal prayer then opened up a bookmarked section of his bible.

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came to be through him,

and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be through him was life,

_**The ceiling! Something's wrong with the ceiling...! **_I screamed through our link

and this life was the light of the human race;

the light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

I dashed through the doorway, startled exclamations following me.

"JOHN! Its dangerous! Get out!" I scream, tearing the door open.

"Mai-san" he says, startled.

"The ceiling is falling, GET OUT OF THE _WAY"_ My eyes taint silver, and I charge into John with inhuman speed. Shoving him out of the way just as the ceiling gives way.

* * *

**Sorry the chapter is relatively short, It just didn't feel right to continue past this point, and I was in Arizona last weekend 3.**

**John's prayer is taken directly from the bible I was given last year for attending a retreat with my church, it is up to date with the recent... updates that have been going through to try and bring back the older ways of doing things.**

**The spirit box is a recent-ish invention with ghost hunting, a lot of the stuff in Ghost Hunt is out of date given the year it was set in (90's I think) and I couldn't help but throw some of the recent stuff in. Could be worse, I could mention the wonderful uses of the Kinect for the Xbox in ghost hunting.**

**I need to make sure I put the lines in this time when I post...**

**~AzureSkyTower**


	7. Chapter 7

6/24/26: This chapter has been very very heavily edited. :) I added a whole scene.

"regular talking"

_**thoughts from Mai to Allen**_

_Allen talking to Mai_

"_Ghost talking"_

"_**English"**_

_**text and the title of the story**_

~line breaks~

**Hope you enjoy~**

_Chapter 7_

_A New Day Paves the Way_

I unlocked our apartment door swiftly, my brother floating behind me quietly.

_**Odd, is it not? The entire ceiling collapsed. It had to have taken a ton of power to achieve that. I don't think its safe there, brother. **_I said to the spectral boy, dumping myself in a heap on the sofa.

_I'm telling you I can't see any conscious entity affecting the area. The most powerful force in that building is the investigators and Kuroda. _He replied. _I agree its not safe, and we should take necessary precautions, but against _what_ is the question._

_**Precautions? **_I questioned.

He bent down to my sitting height. _Well, sister of mind, what have you heard of Talismans?_

I blinked. **_Talismans? Like charms and the like?_**

He smiled and spun in an eccentric fashion, ending the twirl with a snap of the fingers and a wink.

_Quite the contrary, sister of mine. Charms, Amulets, and Talismans are similar, but not the same._

_Charms were originally spoken or sung. _He hopped from foot to foot, miming the action of singing. _The word charm comes from the french word _Charme_, which means song._

_The blessing that a priest gives at the end of a service is an example of this sort of charm, but people started to think that spoken words were temporary, and a solid object would be more permanent._

_A four leaf clover has always been considered a lucky charm, as shown in its heritage in an old Irish rhyme._

_One leaf is for fame,_

_And one leaf is for wealth,_

_And one is for a faithful lover,_

_And one to bring you glorious health._

_Are all in the four-leafed clover._

He stopped in front of my jewelry box. _Amulets on the other hand have power in their symbolism. __Early people lived in a world where strange and frightening things occurred that defied explanation, and so they wore symbolic things around their neck—usually natural items like an animal's tooth, or a semi-precious stone._

He pulled out my Obsidian Arrowhead pendant I made with a paperclip and pliers. _The last one, Talismans, hold the real power in the supernatural world. They are made from something easily inscribed with words and must be charged by the power that runs in ley lines around the world. The universal energy of life._

_Obsidian is a great material to use because on its own it protects against psychic possession and oppression. It absorbs psychic imprints easily, almost to the level that limestone does, and looks cool to boot._

He walks to my closet and pulls out a small table that was folded against the wall. _In a room that will not be occupied for several hours after, and a table or shelf to act as an altar. _He grabs a piece of paper and starts writing, explaining as he wrote.

_First you place your talisman on the alter, stand in front of it, and thank the universal life force for protecting and guiding you. After this, reciting a serious poem you enjoy. Because of John's presence in this case, in order to show respect ours is going to be of his religion's nature._

_Angel of God_

_My Guardian Dear_

_To Whom God's Love Commits Me Here_

_Ever This Day be at My Side_

_To Light and guard,_

_To rule and guide._

_Once you have finished reciting the poem, stare at your talisman for thirty seconds, and then speak to it. _He started to write again.

_I empower and consecrate you for (protection). I imbue you with all the powers of the universe to enable you to carry out your task, and I thank you in advance for all the energy, power, and comfort that you offer me._

He looked up._ Gaze at the talisman for another thirty seconds and say "thank you" to it. Spread your arms out wide and look upwards, while saying "thank you" again._

_Leave the Talisman on the altar for as long as possible, leave the room quietly as to not disturb the energies and ensure the room is not used for at least several hours. _He finished his explanati_on._

I look at him, dazed, not expecting him to suddenly reveal this ritualistic process. _**… So I have to do this?**_

He nodded. _If I were to do this, the charm would only work for me. If it is to protect the living, it must be done by one of the living. Later I will show you how to destroy a talisman when it is no longer __going to be used__._

**_Where should we go after it is made? _**I asked.

He considered my question for a moment. _Lets explore the forest. Maybe we can find some of the forest gods for the Miko._

**_Brother... how did you find this out? Why didn't you tell me when you did?_ **I asked.

He looked at me. _There are certain things I find out while floating around on the other side. I couldn't tell you of any of this until you had a need for it, in this case it was when you started to really have an interest in the paranormal—well more than having a ghost brother with give. Anyways, lets get to work._

I nodded and started the process, imbuing the pendant with purpose and energy.

I ventured through the entrance of the forest, the leaf litter crunching under my feet. My brother hovered next to me with an awed look on his face.

_**Ne, brother, let me see the forest through your eyes. **_I half demand, seeing his look. He nodded then possessed me seamlessly.

All of the sudden it was as if a wave spread from my feet outward. Glowing orbs of light densely surrounded everything, like an infestation of fireflies. One by one little creatures faded into view, bodies white with large heads and holes for eyes and mouths. A rattling sound came in with them, soon becoming overwhelming.

We walked through the forest, hopping from large tree root to tree root. The forest spirits gazed at us from their perches high in the treetops, some following us while others settled for just watching.

Running further and further into the forest, we came across a mirror-like lake with a small stone shrine on an island in the middle. Stepping stones sat just under the water's surface leading to the shrine, starting just past the Torii gateway characteristic to Shinto shrines.

Ripples fanned out at every delicate step I made as I walked the path, fighting the instinct to step to the side of the path, as has been drilled into me since I was little. It is not polite to walk the center of the path, that's where the spirits and gods are supposed to walk. Unfortunately this path had no side to walk on, it was single-file.

The shrine itself almost looked like someone made a cylindrical tower about a meter and a half tall out of smooth skipping stones. Each stone was about a half a foot long, two or three inches wide and tall, and interlocked tightly with one another. The whole structure tapered slightly at the top in relation to the bottom.

Spearing strait through the center was a carved wooden stake, tied tight around it is a thick rope with paper talismans. The rope spider's out like a tent and strongly leads strait into the water, attached somewhere unknown.

The platform the structure was on was round, four meters in radius, with artistic engravings of ancient Kanji branching out from the center.

I knelt at the shrine, my senses feeling out for the presence of the god.

Not finding any, I turned my thoughts inward.

_**Brother, there is no god here, what happened to it?**_

… _Even the sensitives of the living could not sense it, I see. The god has fallen into a deep hibernation. From the carvings I can guess this is a protector of the forest that comes to guard against a specific calamity. Not the forest guardian, but maybe a younger relative of it. _He replies.

Looking up to the canopy, his face contorts into confusion. _I think time runs differently at this shrine, we should finish our business here and leave. Lay your hand on the wooden stake, and leave the rest to me._

I did as he said, and right before my eyes a deep blue glow revealed more ancient kanji on the talisman's and the stake itself. Slowly the cracks in the stone repaired itself, fraying in the rope and tears in the paper reversed itself.

Allen nodded, satisfied. _You've left your signature on this shrine, should the god ever awaken it will seek you out. I would not have done it if the bindings showed any indication of being made to hold an evil spirit. With this you have shown you care for the god, as this shrine is it's home._

We walked the stone pathway out of the shrine area, and crossed the Torii. The second we did, a soft melody could be heard on the wind.

Listening, I thought to my brother, startled: _**Ne, brother, do you hear that... it almost sounds like... singing. Its familiar, I know I've heard it before.**_

I listened in, able to make out words.

Hino ataranu haikyo  
mukishitu na rooka  
tsukiatari no heya ni  
wasura ruru kodomo tachi  
anata ga kuruno wo  
zuuto maate tanda !  
ureshii na ! ureshii na !  
nakayoku asobo

kagome kagome

nige rarenu yooni  
kakome kakome  
nani site asobu no?  
yoake no ban ni  
nakama ni nareru ne!

kagome kagome  
"ushiro no shoumen daare?"

fukaki mori no shisetsu  
kinji rareta gijutsu  
osanaki noozui de  
dekiru fushi no myouyaku  
in no kodomo tachi wa  
sensei wo kakon de  
warabe uta de asobu  
"kagome kagome"

kagome kagome  
maketa gaki tachi wo  
kagome kagome  
nige rarenu yooni  
yoake no ban ni  
kubi wo kiri otose  
kagome kagome  
"ushiro no shoumen daare?"

ude ga moge temo atama ga tsubure temo  
shine nai kodomo tachi  
mujaki ni warau

kagome kagome  
nige rarenu yooni  
kagome kagome  
anata mo nomoo yo?  
watashi tachi to  
eien ni asoboo?

kagome kagome  
"ushiro no shoumen daare?"

It faded into the background, looping again and again. After hearing it a few times, it finally clicked.

_**Brother! **_I exclaimed. **_Its that one song, Kagome Kagome. Circle, Circle, that game people used to play when we were little!_**

_Sister... what time is it? _Allen asked abruptly.

I checked my watch, it was 2am, I told him as much.

He looked alarmed. _Get out! You cannot stay in the forest! Not at 3am, never at 3am! We need to get _home! _Run, Mai, you need to get out of here now before 3am has a chance to hit! _He screams. Taking control of my body, we dash towards the exit as fast as inhumanly possible.

We broke out of the forest with only five minutes to spare.

I looked at him, now outside my body. _**Brother, why couldn't we be in the forest at ****4****am?**_

_3AM is a significant time in the spirit world. Its when for the most part all the living are asleep, and thus an extreme increase in activity goes on around that time, especially just after the time passes. 3 is seen as a mocking of the holy trinity in Christianity, and while that is only one religion, the activity of the spirits who follow it acts like a domino effect._

_If you were to be in the forest at that time, I fear you would have been spirited away. _He replied not looking at me.

"...Spirited...away...?"

:)

**...Welp, here is another short ish chapter to make up for the last short chapter. Real quick, like the flash.**

**The information about Talismans comes pretty much directly from Llewellyn . Com, check out the full article. Its article 583.**

**The forest spirits are from studio ghibli movies. I changed the cover picture to them. Its mainly from Princess Mononoke. Great movie.**

**I took this little break from the main story but not quite because in the manga everyone just goes home after the cliff hanger. **

**Kagome Kagome is a really good song, creepy. :) look it up and pick the first thing that pops up, its a vocaloid (I usually dont listen to vocaloid but this song is the right kind of creepy) and from what I have gathered the song and the game are actually pretty old, and existed long before someone decided to make a creepypasta about it. :P**

**~AzureSkyTower**


	8. Chapter 8

6/24/16: I also added a good amount this chapter. What I added is something that actually happened with me and a friend one day, more explanations at the bottom.

"regular talking"

_**thoughts from Mai to Allen**_

_Allen talking to Mai_

"_Allen talking through Mai"_

"_Ghost talking"_

"_**English"**_

_**text and the title of the story**_

~line breaks~

**Hope you enjoy~**

_Chapter 8_

_Into the lives of the dead_

I stared at my brother in shock, my voice hoarse after spending more than 7 hours speaking only through our link.

"Are your serious? Spirited away?" I asked.

_With all the dead living in the forest, in a time with so severe activity I cannot guarantee that all the dead you see will be weak or kind. _He says, not meeting my eyes.

"... Lets... lets just go home" I said, subdued.

We started along the road, not much time passing until the first house was seen.

Allen pointed towards an old, small house. It stood at two stories with walls cracked with age.

_This house is home to a grandmother and her three grandchildren. The long passed parents of the children live in the attic, sometimes coming down to visit the living in their dreams._

We continued walking. A little ways away he pointed to a small shrine looking like a small building of sorts on the side of the road. He put his arm in front of me, stopping us both.

_Stop, we can be of use here. _He said, a guarded expression playing on his eyes. _Talk to him._

I blinked confusedly, then hesitantly bowed.

"I apologize for interrupting your sleep, sir." I say, then resume my upright position. Allen steps up behind me and sets his hand on my shoulder. Just like when we were in the forest the world seems come to life with lights of various sizes, shapes, colors, and brightness.

Standing on the tiny shrine was a small figure wearing darkly colored traditional clothing. At only about a half a foot tall, he looked pitiful, black thin wings sprouted from his back.

"Excuse me, sir." I bow again.

He gestures for me to stand up. "You are of no bother, it has been a long time since one of the living has been able to see me.

I nod. "My name is Mai Taniyama, and this is my twin brother Allen Walker." I introduce.

The small being tilts his head. "Taniyama? Walker? If your twins then why are your last names different?"

"My brother died a stillbirth. He was never named so he got to chose his own. In talking to the spirits of Englishmen passing through, he developed a love for all things British, and made his name follow suite." I answer.

He nodded towards my bag. "I hope its not too much a bother, but may I borrow something to write with and some paper?" I hand him what he asked for.

The small man takes the paper and walks into his shrine, coming out with our names written on opposing sides of the paper, the Kanji _Tamashi_ and _Setsuzoku_ circling the names.

"Now that you see me, you must believe in me. I have been very close to fading away for a good while now. If you are in need of my abilities, call on me with that paper. I wont be helping you attack, but I can heal and put up shields if needed. The power is directly connected to how many people who believe in me and the power of said people."

He swept his inky black fringe away from his eyes, revealing Heterochromic eyes, one a deep blue and the other a shocking forest green, both with a blinding gold light ringing the iris.

"You should be on your way, its not safe to stay. Please, don't forget me, visit soon, please." He ends with a heavy note of pleading in his voice.

Allen nodded and pulled me away, the world returning to normal. Before we go on our way I take a picture of the shrine, and post it on all my social media with the caption "_Calling to view a small god with extraordinary healing and protection abilities."_

Hopefully people may pray to the small god just to see if he is real, and then he may have the power to actually do them good.

Walking down the street, I froze as I passed by a large western-style house.

A mildly disturbed look passed both of our faces.

_**Ne... Brother... something's happening. **_I said, a horrid nervous feeling sweeping over my being. It felt like the feeling of forgetting something on steroids.

His eyes glazed over. _This is not right, something isn't right._

The feeling seemed to escalate to an all out panic attack as an aura of tension seemed to radiate out of the building. Over and over again my mind repeated the words "something's not right, something's happening". Suddenly my brother grabbed my hand and dashed down the road.

We slowed to walk down the way, we ended up at our apartment complex with no more distractions.

Opening the door seemed to break the dam. Energy thicker than bread pudding had gathered in our small apartment and sat. I quickly closed the door and checked on the Talisman. It glowed a faint red color and seemed to radiate safety. I reached down and picked up the obsidian pendant. Putting it on.

_You should get some sleep, sister. You have school tomorrow and it's been a long day. _My brother said.

I nodded and soon was fast asleep.

I ran along the road on my way to school.

_**To think that just yesterday the whole ceiling caved in.**_

__Flashback~

"What a disaster." Monk exclaimed.

"If Mai hadn't come to save me, I would've been crushed." John said as Naru messed with a wooden plank.

"I think that's enough for tonight. Mai, you may go home now." Naru said abruptly, standing up.

"Yeah, I'm going to get out of here, too, While I'm still alive." Ayako interjected.

"Me too, We've all had a long day, we should all go now." Monk agreed.

"Why don't you just admit you're scared?" Ayako taunted, starting another fight.

~End Flashback~

_**We ended up following Naru's suggestion, though he himself said he was going to stay and work a while... Wait! What's he going to do if another ceiling caves in or something?!**_

I dash into the small schoolhouse, checking all of the rooms. Making my way out back, I notice the Van's trunk is open. Peering in, I see Naru's sleeping form under his coat jacket.

"Na-ru~ You're going to catch a cold sleeping in here!" I whisper-sing with a smile on my face. I shake him lightly.

"... Mai... What are you doing here this early in the morning?" He mumbles as he peers at me through his bangs, half asleep.

"Early in the morning? It's already past 11 A.M. Would you like a cup of coffee?" I ask, a teasing smile playing on my face.

"Yea..." He answers.

"Did you find out anything last night?" I ask, he nods.

In that moment, I realize something. _**Hey, brother? **__**Yesterday you seemed to know a lot about many things, why didn't you tell me of stuff like the talisman when you yourself found them out?**_

He turned away from me, gazing at the schoolhouse from his position a few feet away from me. _Mai, there are a few things you need to know and understand before I can tell you of things. I can't give answers to you without there being a need for them or without your own effort to find out the information. I told you of talismans because there was a need for you to have additional protection._

_There are just a few things you have to discover about yourself until I can do and tell you more. _He concluded.

"What's going on, little boy? You're already packing up?" I heard from down the way. Ayako, Monk, and John approached.

"Correct." Naru confirmed calmly. "I have decided that this case is closed."

"Why?!"

"You must be kidding!?"

"Did you exorcise?" Monk asked accusingly.

"No, I didn't." Naru replied.

"Whats this?" I asked, gesturing towards the computer screen.

"A level scale graph. The building sank more than 0.2 inches just overnight."

"WHAAATT?!"

"Land subsidence?"

"That's it?! The psychic phenomenon was caused by this?" Ayako said incredulously.

"This whole development was built on top of damp ground." Naru said, pulling out a map.

"Based on the number of wells that I checked...Directly underneath the school there is a big water vein running through. There are two other wells, but, when I checked for the amount of water in them they were both empty. So that's what's going on."

Everyone just blinked at him dumbly.

"What I'm saying is the foundation is weak because this structure was build on damp soil. In addition an underground water vein is half dried out. All of these factors are causing the land to shift and settle."

He pointed to the map. "This area is the most severely affected. The settling is progressing more rapidly on one side of the building, and as a result various parts of the building are starting to distort and deform."

"Then that's what would have caused the chair to move and the ceiling to collapse." John said.

"Precisely. The classroom floor on the west side is three inches lower than the one on the east side." Naru replied.

_Customary system! _My brother said then faded out immediately. I instantly got the picture of someone hiding in a trashcan popping up to say something then returning to hiding.

"Three inches... that's about 7.5 centimeters!... That's a big gap.."

"And that rapping sound?" Ayako questioned.

"It wasn't a rapping. It was the sound of the building creaking as it sank. The area around this building should be declared unsafe to enter. Sooner or later this building will collapse." He finished, looking at the school as it loomed ominously over our group.

"That's fine and all, but it still doesn't explain the day I was attacked!" Kuroda yelled after him.

"Perhaps it was a floating spirit that likes to follow you around." Naru said, brushing her off. She recoiled as if slapped.

"So what are you going to do now, Naru? Are you going home?" John asked.

"Yes, I finished my assignment." Naru said as I looked sadly back at Kuroda.

"Ah... yeah, you're right, I guess.. ha.. ha.." I trailed off.

"I still think there are spirits here." She said darkly.

"No, there aren't." Naru said flatly. "The research results have proven that there's nothing here."

"It may just be that you can't perceive it." She said self-importantly.

"Then you should exorcise it yourself. I've decided that my job is done, so I'm leaving." Naru said, seeming to get fed up with her.

She looks at all of us with barely restrained rage. "How can you say there are no spirits, when there has been one standing next to Mai this entire time!? How do you know its not him causing all of this?!" She screamed.

My eyes flashed a violent silver as my head whips in her direction. "**Leave my brother OUT OF THIS!" **I all but screamed.

"_As if I would lower myself to needlessly haunting an abandoned building." _He hissed at her. The room plummeted in temperature as both my brother and I glared at the now terrified girl.

At this point everyone—even Naru—is gaping at me in shock.

"Oh please!" I snapped. "Do you really think I was 'just a little high-school girl'? Do you think of my brother so little that he would sabotage my first chance at getting to actually work on a paranormal investigation?"

Suddenly booms began to crash throughout the building. My eyes turn a blazing red.

"That's not my doing!" I scream. "Kuroda, move!"

The glass right next to her cracks then shatters, showering her with shards of glass. Bangs continue to ring through the hall.

"What.. is that..? It sounds like someone's banging on the wall.."

"Is it collapsing?"

"It's not safe anymore! Let's get out of here!" Naru yelled over the crashing. He grabs our hands and together we run out of the building.

"...Incredible.."

Kuroda's form catches my eye. "Are you okay?" I ask. She nods.

"You're bleeding, let me see your hand." Ayako says.

"So what was that all about? You're gonna tell me all that was caused by the land sinking? That, my friend, was definitely a poltergeist!" Bou-san yelled.

"Not only did we hear the building warp but we also heard someone banging on the wall!" Ayako said, ganging up on Naru.

"That was some serious noise. Maybe there's a giant trying to destroy the building?"

"I wonder if he's the same guy that's sinking it too?"

"This is ridiculous! I almost fell for little boy's silly joke!"

"We need to take this more seriously."

I stormed off after Naru in anger. "What's with them? All of a sudden they're acting like buddies..."

I stopped cold. "Naru! Your hand!"

He lifted it to see it covered in blood.

"Oh... It's nothing. It'll stop bleeding soon." He replied, completely out of it.

"But you need to get a bandage on that." I interject.

"Go take care of Kuroda-san" He half ordered.

"Na.." I started

"I just.. I just need to be alone for awhile."

"But Na-"

"I hate myself so much that it makes me sick." He spat with undeniable venom.

I ran up to him and grabbed his shoulder. "I wasn't giving a suggestion. I don't care about what your pride has to say about it. You. Are. Hurt." I said slowly, darkly.

I dragged him back to the van where Ayako and Monk continue to badmouth him.

"So many gadgets that do what? He can't sense ghosts, he cant exorcise the-"

CRACK!

Ayako looked at me with shock, a distinct hand mark started to fade into existence in red.

"Shut. Up." I growled. I stormed up to the first aid kit and grabbed it. Sitting Naru down I started to tend to his wounds.

**:) So we're back to the manga.**

**I have a question for you guys. In this story I am planning on mixing in my own investigations with the investigations of the main story. I'll be setting up a poll to decide when the first one will be in the timeline.**

**The kanji I was talking about in the beginning are ****魂****and ****接続 … ****lets hope it actually goes through. They are for Soul and Connection.**

**On that note, never use Google Translate to translate whole sentences, its good for kanji but it butchers the grammar of Japanese. -_-**

**6/24/16: Sorry, couldn't continue the top note without spoiling the chapter. The thing that happened with me and a friend, is one day on the bus we sat at a red light by a gas station and both of us stopped talking, gazing out the window. I felt incredibly nervous and felt like something was "going down" at the gas station, and voiced my concerns. He agreed and luckily he had a family friend who was a police officer, he called and asked for the friend to investigate just in case. I dont actually know if anything was found, I should ask...**

**~AzureSkyTower**


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is going over the AN. For those who are just now reading the story, I took a couple months long a break due to a death in the family and moving.**

**Stupidly I made a poll. That's not the problem, no, the problem is I forgot to post it to my profile. Its there now, guys, you can actually vote now. I was all like "why isn't anyone voting?...oh..."**

**That friend who was with me with the cop for a family friend just got back to me, it was a robbery. Neither of us could see inside the building, but we just felt nervous like something was happening, and it really was a robbery. Woo~ we're psychic~**

**I just saw Warcraft, it was really good and I've never felt such a strong longing for the ability to manipulate magic before. Though, I didn't get the free key, which is annoying.**

**Anyways, should prolly get on with the story.**

"regular talking"

_**thoughts from Mai to Allen**_

_Allen talking to Mai_

_"Ghost talking"_

"**English**"

text and the title of the story

~line breaks~

Hope you enjoy~

Chapter 9

It all falls into place.

I opened the sliding door with a loud bang, irritated at the state of affairs. After I bandaged up his hand, Naru rolled off, a ball of self disgust.

Takigawa-san turned to me. "..Oh, Naru isn't with you? By the way, what happened to that other girl?" He asked.

"Kuroda-san went home," I replied.

"Oh? I guess maybe he was so embarrassed, he went home," Ayako said haughtily.

"Maybe..."

I grabbed a monitor and continued to clean up the remaining equipment. John walked up to me.

"Is it okay to put this stuff away?" He asked.

"If we need it we can take it out again later. Besides, we don't know when this building might collapse. I replied, smiling.

"You still believe what the little boy said?" Ayako taunted. The smile was wiped off my face and I started towards her in rage.

"How do you know he's wrong? Why don't you prove to me that there are evil spirits here! Or better yet, why don't you do your job and exorcise them!" I snapped in anger.

"Susoba nisusoba uso bazara uso hatsuta jiaku uso bao koku—oso" The blond monk chanted. Allen looked at him with interest.

_He seems to have been trained well._ The spectral boy noted. I looked at him curiously.

_**Is it doing anything?**_ I asked.

_I can feel it tugging on me, it's not making me do anything as I am not a malevolent spirit, no, more like it's asking me to assist him should the need arise._ I shot him a surprised look.

_**What do you mean?**_

_Well most spirituals call upon another force to help them in some way, the Miko deals pretty much solely with the ancient spirits within trees. Imagine those rattle heads with beards,_ he explained, his manner of explanation not dissimilar to a teacher's.

_Anyways, the monk calls upon all energy sources around that are not an opposing force, and the priest asks for divine power from his god, and works on the fear that the name of his god invokes,_ he finished.

I stood and pondered this information, soon getting distracted by other thoughts.

I looked at my brother curiously, catching his eye.

_Ne, sister, what's on your mind?_ He asked.

I tilted my head. _**Well.. I guess precisely that.**_

He stared at me blankly_...What?_

_**I was just thinking, how do other people think? For me, I can sort of block out my vision and play scenarios almost like a movie,**_ I said. _**Also, when I focus on a thought, it almost turns into a stutter as I hear the thought echoing around in my head. Like I hear the beginning of the word before I say it, and it's repeated after. Though, that's only when I'm focusing really hard.**_

Allen looked at me strangely. _Well.. I guess for me it's like my thoughts are a web, and my internal monologue shoots from connection to connection really fast. Though, to be fair, I'm dead and have been my whole life_, he answered.

I smiled at him, then paused at the door. _**You know, I've always kind of imagined thoughts like raindrops. Just like the temperatures affecting if it's nice the day after or gross and sticky, your thoughts affect how things end up.**_

_**Say your best friend takes another friend out to something cool for her birthday without inviting you. You could be negative and think they hate you, or you can realize that it was a special day for the birthday girl: an exclusive present,**_ I said.

Allen looked at me, choosing his words carefully. _That's because it does to an extent affect the outcome. Your thoughts and actions are sent out to the universe, and while individually small, they add up._

_You know,_ he started, _from your brain to the base of your spinal column is a good amount of electrical energy moving about. This like, all running electricity, forms an electromagnetic field of some kind. Just like how different colors are on the spectrum, these currents vary depending on what neurons fire. Your thoughts change the patterns, changing the field. This field commonly goes by one name: your Aura,_ he explained. _This is why it's so rare for someone to see all layers, most only see one if any. It's a mutation in their eyes to see something other than the normal light spectrum._

… _**Interesting**_, I muttered.

John and I walked down the creaking stairs.

"Mai-san," he started, "I set up a tape recorder on the second floor."

"Ah, thanks. Thank you for helping me." I said, dipping my head politely in his direction.

"No problem. I'm gonna go look around a little as well." The priest said, walking away.

Turning, I walked down the worn hallway, my shoes softly clacking against the mahogany floors. As I walked, I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. I ran up to the offending window, but saw nothing.

_**What was that?**_ I asked my brother, wondering if he saw.

_Ever since the flute incident and our_ _going into_ _the woods, some of the little woodland spirits have been following you around. They mean no harm, age wise they are only_ _children. _He stood next to me and held his hand against the window.

_Come child,_ he urged. _There is nothing to fear, never shall harm nor judgment befall you by our hands._

There in front of my very eyes a small orb of pulsating green light tentatively approached. Once it reached its perch in front of us it expanded to take the form of a small creature about a foot tall.

I gazed in awe at the small spirit. …_**Hello,**_ I said shyly, waving slightly. The sound of wooden wind chimes echoed around me with a note of childlike joy, seemingly in response to my greeting.

My brother held out his hand. _Child of earth, I have a job for you and your friends, if you are up to it_, he offered.

The spirit nodded excitedly, jumping up and down while holding its hands up in the air above its head.

Allen got down to its level, running a hand through his auburn colored hair. _My child, you recall the accident that happened a moon ago?_ He asked.

At the positive reply he continued. _Some people were injured. I ask that you and your friends help us gather the herbs and natural remedies to make a first aid kit, should it ever happen again._

The spirit seemed to consider it for a moment before nodding and compressing back to that ball of light, zipping away in an instant.

Allen stood up then looked at me. Reaching out he grasped the obsidian arrowhead, feeling the thrum of energy under his fingers.

_You know, this really suits you_, he murmured, _obsidian is known not only to protect one from psychic attacks, but it also protects the kind and soft-hearted from negative energies._

He smiled softly. _You've always been the kind of person to reach out to those in need, _he remarked, before sharply spinning on his heel. He walked a few steps then turned to me, a wide smile on his face. _This ghost hunting thing, I think it'll be good for you._

* * *

Both of us started violently when a loud bang rang through the hall.

_**Naru?**_ I guessed, running towards the sound. I stopped short when I caught a familiar figure. A glasses clad, braided figure.

"Kuroda-san..." I trailed off.

"How's it going?" She asked, stepping onto the raised wooden platform away from the show shelves.

"Ah.. Well.. Since you left... The Monk and the Miko-san have both performed exorcisms, just in case. I don't think they did all that much, though the Monk had promise." I replied.

"Where's Shibuya-san?" She questioned.

"I have no idea," I answered. "From what we can tell there don't seem to be any site-bound spirits at this location."

"I saw one," she stated stubbornly.

"Yes, you mentioned that," I deadpanned. "Even if you saw one that doesn't mean it's bound to this site. It could just as easily dislike your abilities and be following you." I told her, trying to appeal to her pride. She turned red and looked away.

"Playtime is over, you kids should go home. The exorcism was a success," Ayako said. The fiery-haired Miko had stepped down the stairs, and was wearing a floral dress.

"That's what you said last time," I stated plainly.

"This time we're sure," she snapped angrily.

"No. Spirits are still here," Kuroda cut in, staring straight at me. "I can feel it, there are still powerful spirits here."

Walking up to her, I muttered, "We are talking about spirits that can do harm, girly. Trust me, I would know by now if there were any malevolent spirits," in her ear.

"Playing your psychic game again? Cut it out. Leave it to the professionals," Ayako interjected patronizingly. "I don't believe it."

"You should know by now that just because you don't believe it doesn't mean it doesn't exist, with your line of work," I muttered, Allen snickered in the background.

"Rest assured, Ayako may have blown it, but I did it right," Monk stated arrogantly, with John trailing behind him quietly.

"How dare you!?" The banshee screeched.

"I'm just being honest." He replied.

"You're just trying to take all the credit for MY work."

"No, you are."

"Will you knock it off!" I yelled, royally pissed. Suddenly, thumps and footsteps could be heard from the upper floors.

"-Is someone up there...?" I asked, addressing the question to both the living and the dead.

_No, all are accounted for_, Allen said from where he was resting in my shadow.

"All of us are here... NO WAY!" Monk exclaimed as the thumps and bangs crescendoed.

At the most recent loud bang, Takigawa bounded up the stairs, taking steps three at a time. I called after him in a wordless shout of exclamation.

"It seriously sounds like someone is up there..." Ayako muttered.

He came back down slowly with a blank face. "No... there can't be..." He said, trailing off.

"Wait..!" I snapped, suddenly extremely pissed. "There can't be!? I know I heard it! Every-one else heard it. And Takigawa heard it too, right!?"

"It was just the wind!" Ayako said, in denial.

I suddenly got extremely quiet. "The wind...? The wind...!? Excuse me? Do you really think I'm that stupid?!" I ended screaming.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! You were so arrogant earlier when you were lecturing Naru, but did Naru try to give you lame excuses like you're giving us!?" I yelled.

I sneered in disgust, "You all make me sick. Why don't you guys try acting like adults!" My voice rang with not so subtle contempt.

Suddenly the banging returned, almost ten times louder this time. The lights above us shattered, raining glass upon us.

"More footsteps!" John yelled out.

"It sounds like an indoor athletic competition! Hey get out of there! That ceiling could collapse!" Monk warned. I nodded.

I ran down the hall, but when I turned the corner I noticed something way too late.

The wooden shoe shelf was falling towards me.

Putting my hands up in a last ditch attempt to stop it I discovered something; the cubbie was warm to the touch.

And then I knew no more.

:)** Well, that's that chapter done.**

**Monk's chant was annoying to translate because on my version of the manga it wasn't translated and when I looked it up, apparently there is a soundtrack from the show called "monk's mantra" which was wonderful. I could translate the characters themselves, but the order left me guessing. I basically read it going down from right to left.**

**3 my beta is awesome, dealing with my random breaks and still beta-ing my writing.**

**I sincerely thank you all for your support in my time of mourning. The one thing I hate the most about my father's death was with all he was on our asses about grades, he didn't live to see the graduation of his first born. He died the day before the Grad Walk, more than a week before my brother's graduation.**

**Anyways, I gotta get working on the next chapter. :) **

**I will see you all next time, have a great day!**

**~AzureSkyTower**


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